Senate Mission
by cdog1917
Summary: The planet Julla is undergoing talks with the Separatists. The planet is known for its prejudice against Elementians, and it's no surprise that they're very angry when Taran comes to the planet with Chuchi, who may have certain feelings for him
1. Uneasiness

(Senate Chamber)

The Senate was all in a bustle when the meeting was called. The Chancellor had urgent news to address the people, and it was to be broadcast over the HoloNet.

Padme Amidala and Bail Organa were in a hoverpod, waiting for the Chancellor's address.

"What could be so urgent?" said Bail.

"I don't know, but whatever it is must very important," she said. The chamber came to silence as Chancellor Palpatine appeared on the podium flanked by his Staff Aide, Sly Moore, and Vice Chair, Mas Amedda. All cameras swiveled to him, ready for what he was prepared to say. The Senate sat in silence to listen.

"Delegates of the Senate, People of the Republic. We live in dangerous times now. The war has raged throughout the galaxy for near two years now with the forces of the Republic against those of the Separatists. Many good citizens and soldiers have died, but their deaths were not in vain. Yet now, our enemies have found new strength and forces to oppose us."

"I've received word that the planets Sluis Van and Nal Hutta have fallen to the Separatists, and that the 35 new systems have pledged their services to the Separatist cause. Also, we have a new and more dangerous enemy," said Palpatine. He pushed a button on the podium and a image of a tan-skinned teenager with dreadlocks and yellow eyes appeared with all black robes on and a menacing look. The Senate whispered amongst themselves when they saw, knowing full well who he looked like.

"Ceran, a Dark acolyte under the tutelage of Count Dooku. You note his appearance to Taran Cyneran, but let me tell you in saying that they are different, for Ceran was cloned by Dooku's work. He is well-trained in the Dark arts, and more so his Bending prowess. The Elementian Council has deemed him an enemy of the galaxy and he will be brought to justice, dead or alive."

"Senators, in order for our Republic to endure, I ask that more emergency powers be granted unto the Chancellory until at a time that the war is ended, and for money to be donated to support our forces fighting throughout the galaxy," said Palpatine, his eyes scanning the room.

Immediately, shouts and chants of "Palpatine!" echoed throughtout the chambers.

"Palpatine! Palpatine! Palpatine!" they chanted. Only Padme and Bail did not join the fervent chanting. They supported the Chancellor's notion, but more emergency powers meant one thing: less freedom.

"Are you okay?" said Bail.

"Yes, just worried," said Padme.

* * *

(Voss)

Deep in a part of the planet known as the Nightmare Lands, the Republic forces beat back the droid forces, using the trees as cover and assault vehicles hammering away at each other. Starfighters from the Republic bombed whole areas of the forest, creating raging infernos and demolishing large parts of the Separatist forces.

Looking down on the planet on the _Resolute _was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Commander Cody was on the planet leading his forces in the last assault, which was deemed successful in a short amount of time when the last droid was brought down.

"Sir, all droid forces are eliminated and the planet is ours," said Cody.

"Good, gather up your men and leave a garrison. We're preparing to leave the planet," said Obi-Wan.

"Copy that General," said Cody, his hologram image fading out.

"Has Anakin and Ahsoka cleared all their space forces?" said Obi-Wan.

"Yes sir. They're coming back now," said Wullfe, seeing squadrons of fighters heading back to the ship. Obi-Wan thoughts now turned back to his Padawan, who had missed the action to train on his home planet. Being the Avatar, he had to make frequent visits to master all four elements. This required him to miss battles that if he were apart of, could have left more men alive and the operation going smoother. Obi-Wan understood that he had to fulfill his duties to his home planet before that of the Jedi Order, that being the agreement between the two.

_"At least he's safe for the moment,"_ he thought to himself.

* * *

Taran and his Airbending instructor were meditating on a high part of the southern Air Temple.

"Let your mind clear young Avatar," he said, watching as Taran concentrated on clearing his mind.

"There's so much there though," said Taran, his eyes still closed.

"The material world is an allusion. As a Jedi, this is a part of both cultures. Let go of reality, and you will achieve spiritual enlightenment," said the elder. Taran inhaled slowly, and exhaled just as slowly as he moved the massive boulders around him in a continuous circle.

"Now, place them gently down," said the elder. The boulders came to halt and gently without so much as a noise placed back on the ground. Taran opened his eyes to see his instructor.

"Very good Avatar Taran. I can see your manipulation of the Force has greatly improved since your last visit," said the elder.

"All to your teaching Monk Pasang," said Taran, bowing to the elder in respect. Out of all the other cultures, the Air Nomads were the ones who could closely relate to the Jedi and their teachings. Their manipulation of the air around them was a parallel of the Force, and they understood it more than all others.

"I can see you wish to return back to the war," said Pasang.

"Yes, but to protect my friends, and our people," said Taran.

"So much virtue in you. Come, let us head back to the temple," said Pasang. The two walked in silence, looking up at the passing Sky Bison soaring through the air. Taran never fully realized just how beautiful living on top of the mountains was, their isolation from the world and being free from daily troubles. He just wished, sadly, that his planet could be like that away from the war.

"Something troubling you young Avatar?" said Pasang.

"It's nothing, just a thought," said Taran, watching a young novice flying on a glider through the clouds.

"Sometimes a fleeting thought is a thought of concern," said Pasang.

"I just wish that our planet was left away from this war," said Taran, his eyes scanning the clouds, yet taking on some hidden sadness.

"You wish what many others wish, but not everything can be so. As the Avatar you are the guardian of this planet, and your sacred duty protects us all," said Pasang, watching the clouds as well.

"But what if I can't? As a Jedi I have nearly the entire galaxy to save. How can I save all when I can't?" said Taran.

"He who saves at least one saves many. Do not trouble yourself with defending all. Save who you can," said Pasang. Taran nodded, appreciating the wise monk's wisdom. The Air Nomads always had a knack for making one feel better with some crazy, ancient line filled with metaphors. They were far different than the wise men of Earth Kingdom, who told him things straightforward. Guess wisdom travels depending on your element.

Once they go to the top of the mountain where the temple was, Taran jumped into the air, letting the wind carry him high up, and then floated down on top of a Sky Bison grazing peacefully on its hay collection. Taran had already given him a name.

"Hello Oppa (Korean for Older brother). How're you today?" said Taran. Oppa let out a low groan of appreciation. (Appa is Korean, and other languages, for father). A shadow passed overhead and they looked up to see the triangular form of a Star Destroyer overhead. Taran sighed.

"Time for me to go back to the war," Taran said into Oppa's ear. Climbing ontop of the Bison, he readied himself to leave. He rememberd on a journey to the Spirit World what to say to his Bison to take off from a passed life.

"Oppa, yip yip," said Taran. Immediately the Bison took off into the sky towards the Star Destroyer. Taran loved the feel of the wind on his face and passing through the clouds, feeling the water droplets on him.

Monk Pasang looked at him from the temple.

"You will do many wonders young Avatar."

* * *

The crew of the _Resolute _were quite shaken when a one ton Bison landed in the hangar. Taran slid off his back and rubbed his nose.

"Go back to the temple. I'll see you very soon," said Taran. Oppa licked him and took off back into the clouds, disappearing from sight in a few seconds. Taran bended the spit off of him and turned around to the astonished flight crews, pilots, and droids.

"You've never seen one of those before have you?" said Taran. There was a lot of shaking heads to that.

"Don't worry, they're harmless, except to droids," said Taran. The droids whirred and chirped in fear.

"Kidding," said Taran, walking towards the main part of the ship towards the bridge. A green astromech droid followed him, nudging his leg.

"Miss me R3?" said Taran. The little droid whirred frantically, showing him how much he missed him. Taran knelt down and patted him on the head.

"You must have been lonely here without me," he said.

"He wasn't the only one," said Ahsoka. Taran turned around to see her leaning on the wall of the hallway. Her form started to get more and more beautiful every passing day.

"Who would be the other one?" said Taran.

"I think you know her," she said, walking towards him.

"Probably not, but thanks for reminding me," he said, coming towards her before they hugged each other. She smelled the smell of animal fur on him.

"What's that?"

"Flying Bison," said Taran.

"Oh yeah, forgot about them," she said.

"How've you been? he asked.

"Fine, just fine," she said, her fingers tangling into his hair.

"Honestly?"

"No, I missed you everyday," she said, her blue eyes shining.

"Same here. Want to go somewhere more private?" he asked.

"Gladly," she said. "You have a week to make up for."

"I'll make it up three months from now," he said. It was true. Since her birthday was in two months, and his was in three, they would be turning sixteen, and they'd agreed they would do it after three months.

"True, but for now I'll just take the week," she said.

"Hold on," he said. He touched her crystal necklace he had gotten her nearly a year ago and a blue flame shot into it. It mixed with the crystal and soon dissipitated in it. The crystal remained unchanged.

"What just happened?" said Ahsoka.

"Whenever you need to find me, all you need to do is follow your heart. It'll show you the way," said Taran.

"What does that mean?" she asked, still unsure.

"You'll find out soon enough. So, my room or yours?" he asked.

"How about mine this time," she said.

"Fine with me," he said. She led him to her room, careful not to be seen by any of the other crew members.

He had been in her room plenty of times before, but this time he felt that this encounter would be the most memorable.

When they got in, she turned around and kissed him. He immediately embraced her as her arms wrapped around his neck. She lightly pulled him down so that they lay on her bed, passionately kissing.

* * *

(Senate Building. Padme's office)

In her room, Senators Bail Organa, Riyo Chuchi, Mon Mothma, and Fang Zar were in Padme's office.

"So we can all agree that we're a bit worried about the additional emergency powers?" she said. All of them nodded.

"Although it is a necessary thing to do, I believe that something's amiss about it," said Padme.

"I quite agree. No leader is perfect," said Bail. "It seems odd how he suggests this before any other delegate proposes it."

"It is strange, but for now we have to let this go. Meanwhile we have other pressing matters. The planet Julla, close to the Elementia system, is undergoing talks that might have them join the Separatist cause. We can't let this happen. We need a delegate from the Senate who we can trust to go to the system and convince them not to join," said Padme.

"I will do it," said Chuchi.

"Are you sure?" said Padme.

"Yes. It's time for me to help the plights of others and sit back in the Senate and do virtually nothing," said Chuchi.

"This is dangerous Senator. Your life will be at grave risk," said Bail.

"I know, but I have to do this," said Chuchi.

"Very well. I'll come with you. There's some friends of mine who will escort us to the planet," said Padme.

"Who?"

"I think you remember Jedi Master Kenobi."


	2. Disguises, Disguises

**Now that it's Thanksgiving Break, I'll have time to type and such. Be prepared for a lot of updates.**

(_Resolute_)

The two Jedi teens were cuddling in bed, his hand caressing her cheek as hers did the same. They were staring intently at each other, reminiscing about what had transpired just minutes ago.

"I love you," she said.

"Me too," he said, kissing her as his hand glided up and down her lekku. One of his hands ventured down south until he lightly squeezed a very personal part of her.

"Hey!" she said, her hand lightly slapping away the hand that touched her butt.

"You seemed to like for a split second," he said, smiling at her. She glared at him for a minute before she too smiled. Her hand went south and touched around his abs. He sighed contently before he captured her mouth in a kiss. Her lips were so soothing to the touch, and they were so soft and full of life. He wished he could kiss her forever if he could, but nothing is forever. Her hands went around his neck, pulling him in deeper as the kiss became heated. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, wrapping around his and sending their senses into orbit. His hands wrapped around her, pulling her in till they were touching from head to foot. She rolled over onto her back so that he was on top of her. As their needs climbed higher, as usual an annoyance stopped them.

"Taran and Ahsoka, to the hangar now," said what was undoubtedly Obi-Wan's voice. Both teens groaned, kissing heavily for a few more second before getting off each other.

"It seems we can't really enjoy ourselves, doesn't it?" she said.

"Yeah. Remind me in three months to take that sound system off," he said. Fixing his clothes up before the two walked out of the room towards the hangar.

* * *

(Hangar)

Padme and Chuchi were waiting patiently in the hangar for their escorts. They would be taking a Pelta-class frigate, an easy ship to fly past blockades or outrun capitol ships. The two Senators would be escorted by the four Jedi, with Rex and a few members of Torrent Company.

Chuchi knew all of them, even Taran. He had went on a private mission with her to a planet that needed to be swayed to the Republic cause. On the mission, she couldn't help but feel a certain way about him. He was just so, exciting, if she could sum him all up.

Anakin and Obi-Wan were the first to arrive, Anakin giving a loving look to look to her that only she caught. Taran and Ahsoka arrived next, and Chuchi felt her stomach flutter from seeing him.

"Alright, what's our mission Senator?" said Obi-Wan.

"We need to go on a diplomatic mission to stop a planet from going over to the Separatists," said Padme.

""Which planet?" said Anakin.

"Julla," said Padme.

"What?" said Taran. Everyone was surprised by his sudden outburst.

"I can't go to that planet," he said.

"Why not?" said Obi-Wan.

"They're REALLY not going to like me there," said Taran.

"Why is that?" said Padme.

"Well, to be frank, they really hate Elementians, particularly me," said Taran. "But I'll go anyway. I'll just disguise myself."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" said Anakin.

* * *

"You look absolutely ridiculous," said Ahsoka. Taran was in a brown robe that covered his body, a turban, and a black sash that made it really hard to see his eyes.

"Only thing I could come up with," he said.

"You still haven't told us why you even need to do this," said Obi-Wan.

"I'll explain later, we're almost there anyway," said Taran. He was right. The frigate was nearing the planet, a mostly dry, desert planet with sparse grasslands dotting it. The planet had about one million inhabitants, not much for the sheer size of it.

Landing in it, they saw the main city of Jia Ping (Chinese for abandoned city). Some buildings were modern, but many of the buildings were old and destitute, looking like they were hundreds of years old. Some were even made from sand and earth, others that barely looked like they could support themselves.

"Why is this planet like this?" said Chuchi.

"They have an isolationist policy. Only reason some of the buildings are modern is from passing trade ships that need to stop to refuel under critical conditions," said Padme. Taran could only look in pity.

_"If only they hadn't turned,"_he thought. The ship came to rest in a docking yard that looked decades old. They disembarked from the ship, a Jullan delegate waiting for them.

"Welcome ambassadors of the Republic," he said, bowing respectfully to them. Anakin, Padme, Chuchi, and Obi-Wan all realized how similar he looked to an inhabitant of Elementia. He had a moustache that hung from his upper lip that dangled around the cheek area, all black hair, and the styloe of his clothes resembled that greatly of an Earth Kingdom ambassador.

"Welcome to you too," said Padme, also bowing.

"It has been quite awhile since we heard from the Republic. Please, come towards the palace," he said, beckoning them to come forth. The group headed to what appeared to be the palace. It was alright, despite the fact it was sand-worn and looked like it was decaying. It was made of stone, but was made in a style that quite resembled the Earth Kingdom type of buildings.

_"Is there a common ancestry root here?"_ Obi-Wan thought. "Or something else?"

"Please, come this way," said the Jullan delegate. They headed up a stairway that led them to a palace room. The room had no windows, instead having glowing green emeralds to light the room. On an all-black chair was the ruler of Julla, King Jein. He was very tan with aqua-blue eyes. In fact, he looked a lot like the people of the Water Tribe. His brown-black hair was tied with a ponytail in the back, a scraggly beard. No crown adorned his dead, but a silver circlet adorned it.

"Welcome delegates of the Republic," he said. They all bowed respectfully.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves. I'm Padme Amidala," said Padme.

"Ryo Chuchi," said Chuchi.

"Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi," said Obi-Wan.

"Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker," said Anakin.

"Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano," said Ahsoka.

"Jedi Padawan Yassir Fardu," said Taran. Everyone, besides the king and the delegate, knew he was lying, but didn't know why he was. Either way, the king bought it.

"Welcome to our planet. As you know we have recently uplifted our isolation policy. No more will the people of Julla be kept in darkness. The Confederation of Independent Systems has enlightened us with their generous gifts," said the king.

"Which is why we've come. As you know, war ravages the galaxy," said Padme.

"This I've known for some time. However, our planet has never been apart of the Republic, and the Republic has not made plans to try and contact us until now. Why should we support you?" said the king.

"Because your neighboring planet, Elementia, is in the Republic and is at risk from invasion by the Separatists," said Padme. Almost immediately, the king's face became furious.

"Elementia!" he spat. "I would have that planet sink into a black abyss and its people endure torture in order to see it fall!" Everyone, except Taran, were taken aback by this.

"Why do you hate Elementians?" asked Obi-Wan.

"A thousand years ago, they expelled us from our homeworld and left us to rot. Once we ally ourselves to the Separatists, we will gain our revenge," said the king, a proud look on his face. Ahsoka, with her peripheral vision, saw Taran's fist clench, and felt his anger fill him slowly.

"Why would they do that?" said Anakin.

"Because they saw us as a threat. Their most powerful Bender banished us here because of our views, and for that we were exiled," said the king.

"That's some crap!" yelled Taran. The king, and everyone in the room, looked at him in surprise.

"Where are you from, Padawan Yassir?" said the king, his voice on edge.

"I'm from El...Tatooine," said Taran.

"And you would know of this?" said the king.

"One of my friends is Elementian. He told me about this, and what REALLY happened," said Taran.

"Is that so. What was his name?" said the king.

"Perhaps you know him. His name is Taran Cyneran, the Avatar," said Taran. The king's eyes lit up and his face contorted in rage.

"The AVATAR! A thousand curses on his head!" he yelled. Even the others wre surprised, but Taran kept his ground, looking at the king with a calm, yet determined demeanor.

"What would you do if the Avatar were to come here?" said Taran.

"I would have him displayed to the public. His flesh would be stripped from his body and his eyes plucked out of their sockets, and his tongue cut out from his mouth," said the king, still furious.

"Hmmm, interesting. I'll tell that to him," said Taran.

"Forgive us your Majesty, but we've had a long trip, and we'd like some rest," said Padme.

"Very well. Quarters have been established for you. We will hear your talks once the Separatist delegation have arrived," said the king.

"Thank you your Majesty," said Padme as they all bowed, Taran the last one to do so, before they were escorted to their quarters. The king took one last look at "Yassir" before sitting back on his throne, deep in thought.

* * *

"What was that all about?" said Obi-Wan once they were safely in the room and Taran's disguise was off.

"Do you want the full story or the shortened down one?" said Taran.

"Either one, just explain," said Obi-Wan.

"It all started about one thousand years ago..."

_(Flashback)_

_"Avatar Chen, the rebels have attacked the fortress of Hue," said an Earth Kingdom general frantically after receiving the news from a scout on a ostrich horse._

_"What of the villagers around the city?" said Avatar Chen, an Air Nomad Avatar with his blue arrow tattoos and bald head. He displayed no facial hair upon his face and so was clean-shaven._

_"They were...put to the sword," said the General. Avatar Chen remained silent._

_"General, get our troops there, but do not get into the fight," said Avatar Chen._

_"My Lord?" said the General._

_"Do not fight them. I will do this," said Avatar Chen, grabbing his staff and exiting the tent. A large Sky Bison landed on the ground near him and Avatar Chen jumped into the saddle._

_"I won't be long General," said Avatar Chen before flying off._

* * *

_Only two thousand rebels were left alive, the coalition of the four nations surrounding them. The defeated rebels, many of them from the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, were herded together, their hands bound behind them, and the non-Benders in metal casing around their hands and feet. There was a surprisingly large number of Water Tribe warriors and benders in the group, but no Air Nomads al all. Chen looked at all of them in disgust._

_"You call yourself our people? You slaughtered hundreds of villagers, burned countless towns and villages, and you expect mercy to be given to you!" he yelled at them, entering the Avatar state. The rebels cringed together, expecting the worse._

_"Your crimes are to be dealt with now. From this time forth, you are banished from this planet, never to return. Your descendants will scratch a living off the rocks of the neighboring planet for all time," Avatar Chen yelled._

_"We tried to make this a better place!" yelled the leader of the rebels, a Water Tribe warrior._

_"The ideology of separating the nations with anger and hatred is not making our planet a better place. This is the mercy I bestow onto you," said Chen._

* * *

_The last of the rebels were herded into the ships to be taken to the planet. The leader was the last on. He took one more spiteful look at Avatar Chen._

_"My descendants will have their revenge," he said silently before boarding the ship and was never seen in Elementia again._

* * *

"So they were trying to separate the four nations to make them strong again?" said Anakin.

"Yes, and to overthrow the governments of each nation and reign supreme, but separate," said Taran.

"That's sick," said Chuchi.

"It is, but as expected they made their own story about it, so now they hate all Elementians," said Taran.

"How can they tell the difference. You all look somewhat alike," said Ahsoka.

"They intermingled with the local Jullas, so they all have it in their blood. And they can sense your chi. An Elementian's chi would seem green to them. To us, theirs is yellow," said Taran.

"How can you tell?" said Obi-Wan.

"It's an inner feeling. I can't describe it well," said Taran. "But for now, I have to wear this disguise or else we're going to have fight for our lives out of here."

"I now see why you were acting so strange. Do you have any other idea what you need to do?" said Anakin.

"Yeah, lay low and not fraternize," said Taran. Can't be too hard can it?"

"By the way, who are the Separatists sending as their delegate?" said Chuchi.

"We don't know," said Padme.

* * *

The Separatist shuttle touched down into the ship port. Two men came down, one tall and hulking, the other shorter, but nonetheless just as deadly.

"Welcome Separatist ambassadors," said the same delegate who introduced himself to them earlier. "The Republic delegates have already arrived."

"Oh have they?" said Grievous, spying the frigate next to theirs.

"When will we meet the king?" said Ceran.

"This evening actually," said the delegate.

"Who is with the Republic delegates?" said Grievous.

"Senator Amidala and Chuchi, and four Jedi," said the delegate.

"Names?"

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and Yassir Fardu," said the delegate.

"Who?" said Ceran, completely caught off guard by the last comment. _"Where the hell is Taran at?"_

"I've never heard of this Jedi," said Grievous.

"I assure, that's who they introduced themselves as," said the delegate.

"Very well. Troops, stay by the ship," said Ceran.

"You do not command here, boy!" yelled Grievous. Ceran fixed him with a glare that was so evil that the droid troops behind him cringed back. Grievous stood his ground against it though.

"Don't, EVER, give me orders Grievous," said Ceran. The delegate did not know whether to make his presence known or to run away in fear. The two stared each other down, seeing which one would back down. Neither did.

"Excuse me sirs," said the timid delegate, "but it's time to see you to your sleeping arrangements."

"I don't need to sleep!" yelled Grievous.

"Be that as it may, we must off you some room of respite," said the delegate.

"Fine. I'll go then," said Ceran. He followed the delegate to the palace.

"Dumb droid."


	3. Cover Blown

The rooms were all joined together by a common living space, six rooms in all. Chuchi had finished taking off all her excess clothing so that she was her regular wear. (Can't describe it. Just watch the episode when she and Ahsoka are working together). When she came out, she saw Taran sitting on the couch, Bending a small orb of water absentmindedly.

"Something troubles you Taran?" she asked.

"Well besides being on a planet that hates my guts, no nothing at all," said Taran.

_"His sarcasm,"_ she thought, chuckling a little to herself. She sat down on the couch next to him as he Bended the water into a star shape, and then into the likeness of a Republic cruiser.

"You're really good at that," she said, admiring his work.

"I'm the Avatar, it's kind of required thing," he said, laughing a little. She laughed a bit too. He relaxed a bit more with her presence soothing him.

"Have you ever thought of what your life would be like if you weren't a Jedi?" she asked.

"Not really. I can't bear to think of what my life would be like without meeting all these great people," he said.

"Like?"

"Obi-Wan for example. He's like a father to me," said Taran.

"And?"

"Anakin's like the older brother I've always wanted, and Ahsoka is..." He didn't go on.

"Ahsoka's like what?" she asked.

"Kind of hard to tell really," he said. At least there was some truth in that. She was many things to him, so it was a crypted sentence.

"Okay, I won't ask too much from you," she said. Taran then made the form of himself.

"Wow, he looks just like you," she said.

"Yes, he does," said Taran.

"He?" Chuchi asked.

"Yeah, Ceran," said Taran.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," she said.

"It's okay. The resemblance is pretty similar," he said. He seemed to take looking at Ceran with a cold regard.

"I'm sorry if it's a touchy subject," she said.

"It's fine," he said, though he didn't sound like it. She didn't decided to not broach the subject any longer.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked.

"Sure," he said.

"Am I attractive?" she said. Immediately the water he was Bending fell to the floor.

"What do you mean?" he asked nervously, unknowingly blushing.

"It's just a simple question," she said.

"Well...you...are," he said.

"Do you thin I am?" she asked.

"Ummmm," he started off, but couldn't get the words to come out of his mouth. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Taran rushed to his room to get his disguise back on before the door opened and the Jullan delegate came in. The others came out of their room as well.

"Sorry to interrupt, but the Separatist delegates are here and would like to begin their mediation," he said.

"Very well then," said Padme. They all went with him, followed by Taran who just barely managed to get his disguise on.

"Do you sense a dark presence here?" he asked Ahsoka quietly.

"I feel it. Who could it be, it feels so familiar," she said.

"I don't know, but I'm not going to like whoever it is," he said grimly. The group headed down a flight of stairs down to what appeared to be a conference room. In it they saw the Jullan king, a group of advisors, and then the Separatist delegates.

"Ahh, General Kenobi and Skywalker, here to act as bodyguards yet again," said Grievous. Hearing this, Ceran turned and saw them, his yellow eyes flashing with amusement.

"Well, it has been awhile hasn't it?" said Ceran. "I definitely remember you all, especially you Senator Amidala." Anakin growled.

"But, who in the blazes are you?" he said, pointing to Taran.

"I am Yassir Fardu," said Taran, using a fake accent. Ceran spent a minute studying him, unsure of whether to believe him or not. He just shrugged and went looking back to looking at the Jullan king, but his eyes kept wandering back to Taran.

"Now that we are here, we will begin this discussion. Separatist delegates, you may go first," said the king.

"Thank you your Majesty," said Ceran. "As you know, the Confederacy of Independent Systems is a very powerful organization. We have vast sways of wealth, and we can fund whatever interests you have on this planet. We also have nearly unlimited droid forces that can protect your planet from harm or any invasion. All you have to do is swear allegiance to us," he said.

"As is noted by us, but, forgive me, but you bear a striking similarity to Avatar Taran," said the king.

"I've heard that many times. The similarity is...striking," said Ceran, his eyes settling on Yassir' for a moment.

"Duly noted. Republic delegates, what is your offer?" said the king.

"Freedom, your Majesty," said Padme.

"Freedom?" said the king.

"Freedom to express your mind. Believe me in saying that joining the Separatists will not let your voice heard to others. Those swayed under the iron fist of the Separatists find the relationship with their peers one sided," said Padme.

"As well for their methods of aggressive persuasion, courtesy of General Grievous," said Obi-Wan. Grievous growled in his direction.

"And also treachery," said 'Yassir'. "Big emphasis on that one."

"So I've heard, but I assure you that this will not happen, and if it does it is for the better," said the king.

"But your grace, the Republic can help Julla," said Chuchi.

"You never sent aid to Julla even when it asked for it under its isolationist policy, and look at it now. No offense," said Ceran.

"None taken," said the king.

"And why? Because you were afraid you would lose Elementia," said Ceran. The king's brow furrowed in anger for minute before going back to his relaxed state.

"They wouldn't have left the Republic," said 'Yassir'.

"And you know this how?" said Ceran.

"I have a pretty good reason," said 'Yassir'.

"Forgive me, but where are you from?" said Ceran.

"Tatooine," said 'Yassir'.

"Which part?" said Ceran.

"Near Mos Eisley," said 'Yassir'.

"Hmmm, I've never heard of a Jedi coming from such a far-off planet in the Outer Rim," said Ceran, looking skeptically at 'Yassir.'

"Master Skywalker was from there," said 'Yassir.' Ceran took a few more moments looking at him quizzically.

"_I sense his presence, but I'm still unsure if he's even down here,"_ he thought to himself.

_"He's starting to think my fake identity is a fake. Better cool it down a little,"_Taran thought to himself.

"And time and time again I have seen the Republic give promises that it could not keep. I'm sorry, but allying with the Separatists is the only way I can help benefit my people," said the king.

"Wise words have never been spoken, great king. Do we have an accord?" said Ceran, extending his hand. The king eagerly shook it. Padme, and the others, couldn't help but feel defeated.

"OH, and there's one more thing," said Ceran. In the blink of an eye he sent a knife straight at 'Yassir'. His muscles acting on pure reflex, he Bended the air to stop the knife from plunging into the chest.

"So Yassir, when did you learm to Airbend, or should I say Taran!" said Ceran. At once the king, and anyone else Jullan, looked with uncontrolled anger at him.

"I hate you so badly Ceran."


	4. Let's Get Out of Here!

(Taran POV)

The next thing I knew was running, faster than I ever would have thought possible. One minute I'm sitting in the room, the next me and my friends are running for dear life as axes, swords, knives, spears, an occasional blaster shot, and angry yells and curses thrown at us.

Ahsoka was beside me, dodging everything that came our way. I almost had a heart attack when a thrown axe came way too close to her head for my liking. The others were not too far behind. Thankfully my disguise was off. If it wasn't I would be dead right about now. I turned around and sent a powerful ball of air that pushed many of the Jullan guards away, knocking them on their backs.

A guard showed up in front of us, but Skyguy took care of him, using his martial arts training to knock him unconscious with some quick punches and kicks. Thankfully Ceran and Grievous weren't in the fight or this would have turned out ugly.

"Men, get the ship prepared to launch!" Obi-Wan yelled into his comlink.

"Acknowledged sir," the comlink replied back. We kept running as they saw more guards chasing them from behind and from the other levels of the palace all around them. As we ran past some hallways, we saw multitudes of guards heading our way.

(3rd Person POV)

As Taran ran, something grabbed a hold of his ankle and tripped him. As he tried to get back up, he was pulled down again and started to be dragged backwards from them. He turned to see his ankle grabbed by a whip of water from a Jullan Waterbender, dragging him backwards to the waiting clutches of the vengeance-seeking guards. Ahsoka turned to see the peril he was in and threw her lightsaber at the tendril of water, severing it. Using the Force to summon her lightsaber to his hand, he got up and bolted away, trying desperately to catch up with the group.

Up ahead, the group saw a squad of armed guards heading for them, weapons brandished. One guard, a huge burly man with a full size beard and moustache, swung his sword at Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master countered it just in time, but found to his displeasure that the the sword didn't cut in half, as did Anakin. Ahsoka had to fight with her hands and her natural agility since she was weaponless. The eight guards tried to hack them to pieces with their swords and axes, but the Jedi held their own. One of them broke off to attack Padme and Chuchi, however he had no idea that these two Senators could fight too.

Padme pistol-whipped the guard and Chuchi kicked him in the gut. Padme and her picked up the spear and threw it sideways at two other guards who were ready to stab Anakin in the back.

"Thanks," said Anakin, still focused on two other guards.

"No problem," said Padme. Chuchi and Padme didn't see the other guard with a brandished axe coming straight for them. He was in mid-swipe, his axe about to come on top of their heads, when Taran slammed him into the wall with his body and cracked Ahsoka's lightsaber over his head.

"Ahsoka!" he yelled, throwing her her weapon. She caught it with natural grace and fought her guards off.

Obi-Wan was the last to finish off his guards, knocking them unconscious.

"Keep moving towards the ship!" he yelled. They all started running again, guards still rushing on behind them.

Up ahead, three Firebenders appeared, ready to blast them to smithereens.

"I got 'em," said Taran. Shooting forward with the aid of the air around him, he took on the three Firebenders. Weaving in and out between their fireballs, he maneuvered around them, shooting out gusts of air that sent them into the walls. When he knocked one out, the other two got on his sides and did a simultaneous fire stream at him. He did a backflip that sent him over the two deadly streams of flames, landing behind one of them. He created a tornado of air under one of them and spiraled him into the other Firebend, knocking them both unconscious onto the wall at the end of a hallway.

_"His skills have come such a long way,"_ Obi-Wan thought with wonder. They moved on, taking out anymore guards that stood in there way.

Taran could feel the hate and anger swelling within each Jullan he fought. He could hardly blame them, but he thought that the grudge wouldn't have been this harsh, or intense. They aimed to kill him in the most painful ways as possible, erasing him from existence. He didn't want any of his friends to suffer for this, and as they continued on, the thought of what could happen to one of them egged in his mind, never able to be pushed back from it.

Finally, they made it out of the palace, but into the city, and the civilian militia was heading for them from the city streets.

"I'll go and draw them off," said Taran.

"No, we have to stay together," said Obi-Wan.

"Master, they're after me. I'm not letting any of you get harmed when I can stop it," said Taran.

"Padawan..."

"I"ll meet you at the port, I promise," he said. Without another word he ran off down a street, pursued by many citizens. Behind the rest of the group, the guards charged for them.

"Let's go," said Anakin.

"We shouldn't leave Taran like this," said Padme.

"I know, but we have to get you to the safety. He knows you two are more important than he is, that's why he's going by himself," said Anakin.

"He's right. We have to get you to safety by all means," said Obi-Wan. The group went forward, fighting off anyone who came near them.

* * *

Taran ran through the city streets, arrows, blaster bolts, and spears whizzing past him, some coming close that if he moved in that direction he would have died. Seeing that the street in front of him was swarming with more angry citizens, he jumped up onto the roof of a low building, climbing onto other buildings to get away from the mob pursuing him. Loudspeakers screeched all over the city, alerting all of his presence, and shouting curses towards him, Elementians, and the Republic.

He could feel as if the entire city was trying to find him, and cut his heart out. It made him feel like a cold-hearted murderer, even when he knew he wasn't. He felt cold and heartless, an abomination, an evil thing that had to be weeded out and eradicated by all means. Jumping down into a sidestreet, he saw two armed Jullans with blasters, one a boy scarcely fourtten years old, and a man around his late 30's or early 40's. They aimed and fired at him. They shot so fast he couldn't pull out his lightsaber in time to stop them, resorting to dodge. He tried to find a way to get some cover and saw an open door. Without any hesitation he jumped in, closing the door with his legs. The blasters shot up the door, but it held. They tried to open it, but Taran had locked it using the Force.

Taran hastily got to his feet, his lightsaber in hand. A noise from behind made him turn it on and raise it defensively.

A family of Jullans was in the room, a mother with three children: two boys and a girl. They had Fire Nation features: harsh golden eyes, palish skin that was deeply tanned from the semi-arid planet, and dark hair. All were wearing the clothes befit of living in a dry environment, and all were looking at him with the utmost fear. They knew he who he was.

Taran made a sign that he meant no harm to them. The family relaxed a little, but were still fearful of him. Taran saw a back door to go through and quietly headed towards it. As he passed the family, his hand went to his utility belt. The family clung together in fear when he took something off of it, but Taran made another sign of no harm and opened his hand to reveal a green marble. The girl, the youngest of them, cautiously moved towards Taran, carefully picking up the marble from his hand. Taran smiled at the family and moved towards the back door, leaving a few credits on the kitchen table.

Cautiously, he opened the door ever so slowly. He saw no one there from the limited view he had and proceeded to open it wider. Immediately he realized his mistake. The man and the boy had circled around to the back. They were on either sides of the door, but the boy was facing it. Taran knew he was about to die, but fortune decided to help him out in this debacle. Under the door was a porch made of hardened sand that he hadn't noticed. He slipped on the porch and fell down, luckily missing his intended blaster bolts. Instead the shots hit along the wall, and onto the man instead. The man took three shots to the chest before he went down.

"Papa!" the boy yelled. He dropped his blaster, passed Taran, and helped his father with the wounds as the man fought to stay alive. Taran turned on his lightsaber, but turned it off seeing that he couldn't bring himself to attack the two. He felt pity for the boy, seeing how his hand had brought his father's death. He knew the man was dying, but there was nothing he could do about it. No water was near, and he had to get to the ship or risk being stuck on a planet that would hunt him till the ends of time. Taking one last look at the two, he fled.

* * *

The others had made it to the ship, beating the guards who were stationed there. The hatch to the ship opened and they all climbed on.

"Sir, we did a thermal scan. A mob is headed our way. We have to leave fast," said the clone captain of the ship.

"We have to wait for Taran," said Obi-Wan.

"Sir, isn't that him," said another pilot. They all looked out the window. They saw a figure running for the port from a quiet street with no inhabitants.

"Wow, that was fast," said Anakin. "And no one behind him." He spoke too soon. The second the words left his mouth, the entire half of the street behind Taran was filled with hundreds of angry Jullans wielding an assortment of weapons, ranging from swords and axes to kitchen knives and screwdrivers.

"Power the engines up," said Obi-Wan. "Hover a few feet up."

"Yes sir," said the captain. The ship began to rise slowly.

"Taran, get ready to jump," Obi-Wan said into his comlink. Taran kept running, hearing what he said. He could see the ship rising higher and higher, knowing he had little time.

"Open the hatch," he yelled into the comlink. He saw the entrance beginning to open as the ship steadily rose skywards. Taran hopped onto the roof of a building, jumping and running from roof-to-roof, dodging arrows and blaster fire. He was steadily getting closer and closer to the ship, but he saw that it was getting farther away.

_"I knew I should have brought my glider,"_he thought. He used his Earthbending to climb up a high building, climbing as fast as humanly possible. Jumping up onto the roof, he ran across it and jumped down. His fingers just barely held onto the edge of the ramp to the ship. He pushed himself up onto the floor of the ramp, letting it close. His chest rose and fell rapidly. That was the best run he ever did, but it was also the most tiring.

Ahsoka and Chuchi had come down, helping him up as he fought to steady his breathing, with his rate off the charts. All of them couldn't help but feel one thing: failure.

* * *

"I knew there was a resemblance to you two!" yelled the king towards Ceran, Grievous still in the room.

"Yes, but I'm not the Avatar; I'm unfortunately his clone," said Ceran. "And as I said before, I'm not responsible for anything he's done." The king thought of this for a moment before pushing it out of the way.

"So then Julla will have military aid?" said the king.

"Yes. We'll use it as a jumping-off stage to Elementia. There your banner will fly over the planet, and your revenge will be complete," said Ceran.

"There's just one thing I personally require," said the king.

"What is that?" said Ceran.

"I wish to personally kill the Avatar myself," said the king.

"Very well," said Ceran. The king bowed respectfully to them and went on his way, followed closely by his advisers.

"Passing up a chance to kill Cyneran? This I wouldn't expect from you," said Grievous.

"Yes, but if it gets him on our side, it doesn't matter," said Ceran. "The republic will attack here soon, but I need a droid force to be on this planet in the next 24 hours, else me and you will be stuck here on this dismal planet."

"Already taken care of. They're in orbit now," said Grievous. They had planned to bring the army in whether the king had agreed or not.

"Good. The Jullans have played their part, now we will play ours."


	5. Let's All Just Calm Down

(Elementia, Earth Kingdom)

"This can, and will not be taken!" yelled Earth King Cui. He had heard the news not from the group, but from the HoloNet. Someone had broadcast the whole thing and many sentient beings across the planet had seen it. All over Elementia, the people demanded vengeance. They had always born a grudge against the "Rebels of Julla," and this new event made it swell in their hearts and minds. There were shouts of war on them for their insolence when the Avatar was just trying to help them.

When the frigate landed in Ba Sing Se, the group was immediately rushed by the King's advisers, along with the rulers of the other Nations. Only the Air Nomads kept a level head.

"They must pay!"

"We will not stand for this!"

"Will you all be quiet!" yelled Taran, temporarily going into the Avatar state in such a display that all the men were silent for a time. Taking a deep breath, Taran left the state and spoke calmly.

"I know what you're all angry and want revenge, but that's not the way," said Taran.

"They nearly tried to kill you!" said Fire Lord Kuzon.

"But they didn't. I'm not harmed in any way," said Taran, showing him his Jedi robes, only having some dirt and some scorch marks on it.

"Be that as it may, they attacked you," said Northern Water Tribe Chief Nato.

"Please, just hear us out. Attacking the Jullans will only deepen this conflict," said Padme.

"She's right. The Jullans have done know harm to Elementia. My advice is not to anything else," said Taran. The Air Nomad elders agreed, as did the Earth King and the Water Tribe Chiefs, but half-heartedly. The Fire Lord only did so after seeing he was outvoted.

"Thank you. For now we'll worry about domestic problems," said Taran. As they talked, five Republic Venators were seen overhead. They bore the insignia of the Republic, but also the universal symbol of Elementia: the emblems of each nation divided in four surrounded by a white square.

"The army is back," said Earth King Cui.

* * *

Long was talking with a clone commander and a few other high-ranking generals from the Republic 2nd Army.

"We'll resupply here and rearm for a few days; the men deserve some R&R," said Long. The ships were on the surface, the surface being on the top of Lake Laogai. The lake was big enough for up to ten Venators. Normally they would dock at the spaceport in Republic City, but it was crowded at the moment by other ships. The ships floated briskly on the water, barely even bobbing on the water.

"Good. Relaxing in Ba Sing Se will rally the men definitely. Will also look for any new recruits as well," said a Fire Nation general. The other generals nodded and went on their way.

"Sir, what about the clones?" said Clone Commander Skye.

"They can partake of the city too," said Long.

"Thank you sir," said Commander Skye. Long went back to looking at a holographic map of an unknown planet in the Outer Rim. As he studied it, he felt a breeze pick up behind him. Usually on any other day this wouldn't bother him, but he knew exactly what kind of breeze it was.

"You know Taran, you really need to be more random," said Long.

"I do, you just don't notice at times," said Taran, hugging his uncle. Long ruffled his hair a little.

"I missed you nephew. It hasn't been the same without you here," said Long.

"Same here. I suppose you've heard about Julla then?" said Taran.

"Yes, I heard ALL about it," said Long, gritting his teeth. He shared the grudge just as much as many other Elementians.

"Long, please, I don't need you ready to attack them at a moment's notice," said Taran.

"You know I hold a grudge against anyone who tries to kill you," said Long. Taran vividly remembered what happened to Ruusan.

"My point is, I think they've stepped too far this time," said Long.

"But can we just forget this, it's not serious," said Taran.

"Not serious? Taran, you're the practically the ruler of Elementia; no, you're the symbol. The Jullans attacking you show that they want not just you, but all Elementians dead," said Long. "It only makes sense why they'd singly attacked you and virtually left your friends alone." Taran was about to speak, but then thought about it. None of them were chased by a mob of sadistic Jullans. Luckily he didn't have to say anything else since his facial expression showed all.

"It's alright. I'll let you rest. You seemed like you had the run of a lifetime a few hours ago," said Long. Taran laughed a little, glad that even Long could find humor on the incident. "Where's everyone else?"

"They're somewhere around here, meeting clone commanders and what not. I heard you got into some heavy fighting recently," said Taran.

"I know. One of our elite units, the Bender Battalion, got 50% casualties in one day alone. We came back to resupply and get more soldiers," said Long. "At least they put clone troopers with us."

"How long will you be here?" said Taran.

"At least three days. While I'm here, I think we can put a little fun into your schedule," said Long.

"But I can't, I have to..."

"No buts. You need to get refreshed. I can see the war is already taking a toll on you," said Long. Taran really hadn't noticed. He did feel sadder at times.

"I guess so," said Taran tentatively.

* * *

"Have any of you seen Taran?" said Obi-Wan.

"The Avatar? No," said a Air Nomad warrior.

"Have you seen Taran?"

"No."

"Have you seen Taran?"

"I think he's with General Long," said a Fire Bender.

"Has anyone seen Long?" he asked.

"No."

"This is taking me nowhere," Obi-Wan said to himself. As he went from place to place, he met up with Chuchi.

"Any sign of him?" said Obi-Wan.

"None. Ahsoka said the same thing too," said Chuchi.

"Anakin and Padme did too," said Obi-Wan. "Where in blazes could he be?" At that moment, Obi-Wan's comlink went off.

"Don't worry Master Kenobi, he's with me," said a voice he knew immediately was Long's.

"Where are you?" said Obi-Wan.

"We're at the Bender Arena. You should come; you'll enjoy it," said Long.

"We have a schedule to keep," said Obi-Wan.

"Master Kenobi, when's the last time you looked at Taran?" said Long.

"What do you mean, I just saw him near an hour ago," said Obi-Wan.

"I mean really 'looked' at him. He's not looking to well," said Long. "He's told me he has nightmares nearly every night, he's starting to lose sight of death and killing, saying their near the same thing now, and he only smiles seldomly."

"What? He's never told me these things," said Obi-Wan.

"He felt uncomfortable about it. He thought you wouldn't understand. He tells me of the bad experiences he had in the war. Either way, I think it best if he finds some kind of rest here," said Long. Obi-Wan wanted to refuse, but by the way Long was telling him these things, this could affect Taran's health. He'd seen Jedi and clones who just broke down all of a sudden into a mental wreck.

"Well how's he doing this?" said Obi-Wan.

"He and me are doing little practice duels with Benders in the army," said Long.

"That's suppose to be relaxing?" said Obi-Wan.

"It allows us to have fun, and it's great for stress relief," said Long.

_"I'll never get use to this planet's ways,"_ he thought. "Where's it at?"

"It's not hard to find. Look for the coliseum-like structure," said Long. OBi-wan looked around until he saw a towering structure.

"They take Bending very seriously here," said Chuchi.

"It's their way of life. I'll contact the others to go there," said Obi-Wan.

"I wonder what he's doing in there?" said Chuchi.

* * *

"Let the matches start now!" yelled the announcer. Taran and Long were up against two Waterbenders. Since Taran was the Avatar, he could only stick with his native element, being Earth, so he was restricted to just Earthbending. The tournament was for fun and to show off your abilities. The arena was in a large square, a pool of water in the center. The rules were simple: don't get knocked out the ring. The matches were in teams of two, and anyone could form a team with any bender regardless of Nation.

"Ready Taran?" said Long, getting in his defensive stance.

"Ready," said Taran, smiling his usual way, full of planning and apparent mischief. The two Waterbenders attacked first, bending a wave of water straight towards them. Taran and Long bended a slab of earth up to block it, sending it towards them. The Waterbenders sliced through it, using water whips to slash at them. Taran and Long split off to take them out together. Taran bended a boulder to one of the Waterbenders, breaking him off from his partner.

The Waterbender he was fighting used his water whip to keep Taran on the defensive, leaving him to bend up a slab of earth to protect him. While behind his temporary shield, Taran bended a smaller boulder. The Waterbender easily cut through it. Taran stomped the ground with his right foot to send an earth attack against the Waterbender. A column of earth sprung from the ground, nearly hitting the Waterbender square in the chest, but he jumped onto it and the air. Immediately, three boulders were flung into his direction, but the Waterbender, with master precision, cut through all three of them before landing on the ground.

The Waterbender sent a wave of water towards Taran. Taran erected a dome of earth around him, protecting him from the wave. He launched himself out of the dome and was about to send another boulder, until he realized a whip of water was around his ankle. He was flung into the air, and launched back to the ground. Before he hit the ground, his hands hit it and sent two fissures of earth toward the Waterbender. The Waterbender had to let the water whip holding Taran dissipated in order to dodge the attacks.

Long and the other Waterbender were dealing out attacks of their own, sometimes being right up close and personal to each other, and other times on the other side of the arena. The crowd cheered as the four dished out against each other. It was then when Obi-Wan and Chuchi came in. He saw the crowd of Elementians cheering as his Padawan bended attacks and defenses.

_"He has gotten quite excellent,"_he thought as he saw Taran dodge icicles and another huge wave of water, sending an earth wave towards the Waterbender. The Waterbender couldn't dodge and was hit with it, nearly knocking him out of square. Taran sent a fissure to the Waterbender attacking Long, catching his foot and making him fall to the ground. Long took care of the rest, sending the Waterbender flying out of the square into the stands. The other Waterbender, seeing he was outmatched, gave up. The crowd cheered, including Anakin, Padme, Ahsoka, and Chuchi. Obi-Wan clapped, not one for losing himself in the crowd. Stepping out of the arena, Taran and Long congratulated one another. The others came down to see them as the next match occurred.

"You two were absolutely amazing!" said Chuchi.

"Thanks, we try," said Long, ruffling Taran's hair once again.

"Are you going to fight again?" said Obi-Wan.

"No, it was just one round," said Taran.

"I can't help but see how your powers are always increasing," said Anakin. "I'd hate to be on the receiving end of those attacks."

"Don't worry, hopefully you won't," said Taran. "When do we have to leave?" Obi-Wan was about to say now, but he heeded Long's words earlier.

"We can leave tomorrow. Everyone just go and enjoy themselves," said Obi-Wan. Even Padme was shocked when the words left his mouth. Obi-Wan Kenobi allowing them a night in Ba Sing Se. It seemed too good to be true.

"You mean it?" said Taran.

"Yes, I think we all deserve a little rest after that little incident," said Obi-Wan, smiling.

* * *

(Julla)

A fleet of Separatist ships orbited the planet overhead, filled to bursting with Vulture droids, tri-fighters, Hyena bombers, and Geonosian starships. An offensive was planned that the Republic didn't know about as the Seps were keeping radio silence.

"We're going to launch a preemptive strike on the Elementians. I think this will appease the Jullans immensely. Throughout the entire planet, there are only three major shipyards: one at Ba Sing Se, one at the North Pole, and the other at the Fire Nation. Besides Corellia and Fondor, the shipyards are the most prized. Many Republic ships returning from the Outer Rim stop here to refuel and repair, and many others are built as well. If we take them out, we can disrupt the number of ships the Republic can utilize," said Ceran.

"Can we gurantee success from this mission?" said Grievous.

"Yes. We'll enter out of hyperspace far out of range from their sensors. The fighters will launch from the hangars and go to the surface. They'll break off to their targets. The largest group will bomb Ba Sing Se and the shipyards on Lake Laogai. Their airfields are next after that. The shipyards are the highest priority," said Ceran.

"Casualties might be high, but it's nothing we can't manage," said Grievous.

"I'll survey the operation," said Ceran. "You General?"

"I will take part as well," said Grievous.

"Good. The Jullans will take the Geonosian fighters. They can add little designs if they want to, it doesn't matter. All bombers will carry twice their payload, and the fighters will be armed to the brim with homing missiles. Give buzz droid attachments to the Vultures as well in case we encounter resistance in the air," said Ceran.

"It will be done," said Grievous. He turned and walked away, leaving Ceran alone to himself. His thoughts dwelled on his 'brother.' His mind always came back to him. It was practically to the point where he was obsessed about it.

He walked back and forth through the room, thinking of one thing: the destruction of Taran.

_"Soon, you will fall underneath my grasp." _

_

* * *

_

(Ba Sing Se)

The streets of Ba Sing Se had changed drastically since the days of Aang. Now the entire city was one metropolis of low-lying buildings and skyscrapers in designs of the Earth Kingdom. The rings still divided the classes, but the Middle Ring was by far the largest. To here was where Taran, Ahsoka, and Chuchi went. They found plenty of nightclubs and places for people to have fun. The planet had a sizeable alien population, and although the people wanted Elementia to remain unchanged in some areas, they had no problems with life from other worlds.

"So where are you taking us?" said Chuchi.

"It's this place I saw while I was over here for a few days," said Taran. They saw what he was talking about. A ruby-red holographic dragon spewing holographic fire into the night air as it curled around the top of the building, sometimes crawling around it at times. It was called the _Jasmine Dragon_. It remained unchanged change for up to date technology.

"Wow, this is a very beautiful place," said Ahsoka.

"Thanks. I think you might recognize some of the people in a painting here," said Taran, pointing to a corner in the far left. There was a picture of eight people and two animals, a flying lemur-bat and a Flying Bison.

"Isn't that Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka?" said Ahsoka.

"The very same, with Zuko, Suki, Mai, Iroh, and the Momo and Appa," said Taran.

"Which ones Appa?" said Chuchi.

"The Bison. They celebrated the end of the Hundred Years War right here. Iroh was its first manager," said Taran, looking at the 'family' tree of managers on the wall, a very long line at that, but Iroh was the first.

"Are the descendants of them still around?" said Ahsoka.

"Yep, all around. In fact, General Zung is a descendant of Zuko and Mai, and the Earth King's a descendant of Toph," said Taran. The three got a table and soon they were drinking piping hot cups of tea. Taran blew a small gust of wind over his to bring the temperature of the tea down so that he wouldn't burn his tongue.

"So Taran and Ahsoka, can I ask you something?" said Chuchi.

"Yes, go ahead," they both said at the same time.

"Do you two like someone?" said Chuchi. Taran and Ahsoka nearly spit their tea out from her question.

"What do you mean?" said Taran and her together.

"I know Jedi aren't suppose to have feelings like that for others, but do you two do anyway?" she asked. Taran and Ahsoka shared eye contact for a brief minute.

"Umm, not really," said Ahsoka.

"Oh, so you stick strictly to the code then?" said Chuchi.

"Somewhat," said Ahsoka.

"Oh," said Chuchi.

"Why, is there a Jedi that you like or something?" said Taran.

"Yes, but I don't know if he likes me," she said. "He's very handsome, and he has a down-to-earth demeanor." Taran was completely oblivious to the statement, but not Ahsoka.

_"Oh no,"_ she thought.

"Well I hope you find some luck with it," said Taran. Ahsoka kicked his shin under the table. Taran grit his teeth to not let out the loud grunt he was about to give.

"You okay?" said Chuchi.

"Yep, I'm fine," said Taran, wincing slightly.

"Hold on, I need to go to the restroom," said Chuchi.

"Take your time," said Ahsoka.

"Oww, what was that for," said Taran once Chuchi was out of earshot.

"Did you not get that part?" said Ahsoka.

"What part?" said Taran.

"A down-to earth demeanor?" said Ahsoka. Taran blinked again, still not grasping what she was trying to say. Ahsoka sighed, placing her hand on her head.

"Boys, so clueless," she muttered to herself.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"She likes you Taran," said Ahsoka.

"Who?"

"Chuchi, who else?" she said.

"She does?"

"Yes!" said Ahsoka.

"Nah, that can't be..wait...oh spirits," said Taran. "That's what she was talking about earlier today."

"Wait, she was talking to you about that?" said Ahsoka.

"Yeah, she asked me if she was attractive," said Taran.

"And what did you say?" said Ahsoka.

"I said she was," said Taran.

"What?" said Ahsoka.

"Is there a problem with that?" said Taran.

"Yes," said Ahsoka.

"So you wanted me to lie?" said Taran.

"No, but...never mind," she said.

"Are you jealous?" said Taran.

"Me? Jealous? Has someone been drinking the right tea?" said Ahsoka.

"Well that explains your behavior on the subject," said Taran. "Ahsoka, it's alright to admit it."

"I'm not jealous," said Ahsoka.

"You know I can tell when someone's lying, and in that case in denial," said Taran. "Ahsoka, you won't have to worry about me looking at other girls."

"I know, I just hate it even though I know you so well," she said, sighing in defeat.

"Hey, chin up," he said, his hand lifting up her chin so that he could see her eyes.

"You know I love those eyes," said Taran. She smiled up at him as their lips met for a fleeting moment before going back to their original positions.

"What do you have in those boots anyway?" said Taran.

"Titanium alloy," said Ahsoka.

"Really?" said Taran.

"No, I just have really strong leg power," said Ahsoka. The two laughed together, looking at each other so lovingly and emotional.

"Promise me something," she said.

"Anytime," said Taran.

"Promise me that no matter what we'll always be together," said Ahsoka.

"I promise."

**Merry Christmas everybody**


	6. Surprise Attack

(Elementia) (6 AM)

Taran and the others were sleeping peacefully near Lake Laogai in a nice inn near enough to the ships. They would head out at noon that day back to Coruscant. The rest of the night was rather peaceful for Taran, Ahsoka, and Chuchi, despite Ahsoka shooting Chuchi some disapproving looks from time-to-time when Chuchi brought up the same subject from the _Jasmine Dragon_. Now they were all sleeping in the same room. Long, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme came in later and went to sleep in the next room so as not to disturb the snoozing teenagers.

Little did they know was that this day would start out the way they wanted it.

* * *

(7:55 AM)

The cruisers resting on the surface and drydocks of Lake Laogai were about to begin their day, some of their crews awake for morning duties on the ships.

Two clones were monitoring the guns on the starboard side of their ship near the water table.

"I still don't see how these giants can float on top of water," said one clone.

"As much as I'd love to elaborate on that, we have a job to do," said the other. The two never did see the energy torpedoes streaking for the side of their ship directly towards them until it was too late.

"What the h..."

BOOOOM! The torpedoes smashed into the side of the cruiser, hitting off a massive explosive on the port side.

Ahsoka woke up instantly from the explosion. Looking out the window, she saw Vultures, tri-fighters, and Geonosian starfighters streaking through the sky causing mayhem on the ground.

"Taran, Chuchi. wake up!" she yelled, shaking the two. Taran groaned, but once an explosion sounded nearby, he shot up.

"What's going on?" he said.

"We're being bombed!" said Ahsoka.

"Where's Obi-Wan and..get down!" he yelled, tackling the two down as a Vulture strafed their room. If it weren't for Taran's quick reflexes, they would have been shot up. The room all around them was damaged.

"We need to get out of here now!" said Taran. The three got up and ran out of the building through the hallways. As they ran, they had to dodge past random laser bolts that zipped past them.

"Master, are you there?" said Taran on his comlink as the building seemed to disintegrate all around them as they ran through hallway after hallway to the exit. Static was all he got on the other end. He feared the worst, and wanted to go back to their room, but he knew he would most likely die if he did, and he knew that Obi-Wan would want him to keep to his first objective.

Coming out, they saw bombs and torpedoes around the harbor blow chunks of the Venators into the air, and saw men flung into the air from the force of them.

"We need to get to a starship pronto," said Ahsoka.

"There's a speeder over on the other side of the inn," said Chuchi. The three raced their as fast as possible, ducking from strafing tri-fighters and explosions all around.

* * *

"Padme!" yelled Anakin as the same strafing that went on in the teens room hit their room. Obi-Wan, him, and Padme hit the floor just as the shots flew past their heads.

"What's going on?" said Padme over the roar of explosions.

"I don't know," said Anakin. Obi-Wan crawled on the floor carefully to check the teens' room. He saw it was deserted.

"They must have got out of the room in time. Let's get out of here," said Obi-Wan. The three got out of the room as fast as possible, dodging any fire that zipped through the building. Once outside they hit the ground again when a trio of tri-fighter droids strafed the building and the ground.

"We need to find some cover somewhere," said Anakin. At that moment, a speeder stopp by them. It was the teens.

"Hurry," said Taran. He was driving. They other three scrambled into the speeder. Once they were in Taran stepped on and soon they were off. They dodged dropping bombs, strafing starfighters, and exploding buildings.

"Where are we going?" said Obi-Wan.

"Finding an airfield."

* * *

Outside in the shipyards, it was a living hell.

"We're being bombed, wake up!" was yelled down to the still dozing crew of one Venator before a shot hit the bridge and the officers were killed. Men got to their stations surprised out of their mind as they saw the destruction all around them.

All along the cruisers, return fire was small and sporadic as the starfighters made short work of the hull and turrets.

Nevertheless, some fire was maintained. Those who couldn't find any anti-aircraft weapons turned to their infantry weapons. Even those armed with pistols used them. Soon the sky was ablaze with laser bolts and missiles. The enemy starfighters ducked and weaved through it all, most not harming them. That all changed when the main batteries of the cruisers opened fire. Soon three starfighters were dropping down every thirty seconds, but the Separatists could replace those losses easily.

The cruisers were taking very heavy punishment.

The RSS _Indomitable_ was one of the cruisers positioned on the water table, its hull shielding its sister ship, the Resonance, from the torpedoes on the starboard side, but this left it as the target for them instead.

Missile after endless missile crashed into its hull, leaving massive holes in its side. Water from Lake Laogai poured into the side. The cruiser began to take on water fast. It's starboard steadily began to sink into the water.

"Abandon ship!" yelled the loudspeakers. The crew scrambled out as best they could. Suddenly, all the power on the ship went off. Corridors shut tight, not letting those who were trapped in certain sections out as the ship took on water fast. The crew that could got on top of the hull of their ship, a mix of Elementians and clones.

Enemy ships took shots at them, one of the dropping a bomb that sent men, and limbs, flying through the air. Fire was rampant on the top of the ship and men ran to the side of the ship and jumped into the water, screaming as they were burning alive. The ship started to capsize as men fell into the water, desperately trying to stay on top of the ship. When the ship had reached a 90 degree angle, men feel by the scores into the water choked with debris, gas, and oil. Those who managed to grab onto the side hoisted themselves up and waited to get on the bottom of the ship as it rolled over.

Those trapped inside the ship still tried to find ways out, but most of the time there were none as the corridors slowly began to fill with water. In some areas it was too late as the crew members trapped inside gulped in cold water before their limbs stopped moving and they floated in the room, eyes open or closed as they breathed no more.

The waters of Lake Laogai were strewn with debris and bodies, some swimming to the shore and others dead.

The RSS _Perseverance_, the only ship putting up a hell of a fight, was knocking out starfighters left and right as its gun crew shot everything they had. The ship in front of it, the RSS _Valiant_, was getting its engines up and running, hoping to break off from the surface of the water and send the fighters in its hangar to attack. It would be suicide to release them from the ventral hangers, so they would be released from the bottom hangars.

A Hyena bomber, flying a thousand feet overhead, watched as it saw the ship, _Perseverance_, ablaze with it's guns. Its system locked on to the ship's signature reading, targeting for the most vulnerable part of the ship, the ventral hangar doors.

The bomb launched away from it's carrier, plummeting down. The crew of the _Perseverance_ were unaware of the bomb until it was too late.

BBBBBOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM

A blinding white light, followed by the orange-haze of flames and the black choking fumes of smoke, signalled the doom of the ship. The bomb had passed through the doors of the hangar and fell into a cache of proton bombs. The bombs went off and formed a chain of explosions that formed into one titanic blast when the flames reached the main magazine of the ship. What was left of the ship was a mushroom cloud of fire and smoke. The blast was so massive that ships near it were half out of the water on their bow before slamming back into the water, a section of it on fire.

Pieces that were once part of the proud ship were thrown for miles around.

Our group, heading to a part outside of Ba Sing Se, saw the explosion, as did the entire city, and for miles around.

"What was that?" said Padme. The Jedi knew down in their hearts that that explosion signalled the deaths of more than a thousand men.

Cruiser Row, as it was called, was ablaze, most of the ships on fire or sinking.

The _Valiant_ was underway as it tried to get skyward away from the destruction and help alleviate it. A part of its port side was smoking, but it was underway.

"Prepare to open the hangars," said its captain. "Why haven't we seen any of the fighters from the Home Guard?"

"Sir, all communications are down and practically nonexistent," said a bridge hand. "The pilots are nearly ready."

"Good, tell the gun crews to repel all attacks," said the captain. As the men on the ship prepared, the ones still on Lake Laogai watched and joy filled their hearts as they saw the battered ship attempt to make headway. The Elementian markings on the ship seemed to glow and their pride swelled greatly. A great shout was given and all who could turned their fire to ward away any starfighters away.

Three squadrons of Geonosian starfighters and Vultures saw the ship and begin for a strafing run on the ship. Four of them were shot out of the sky, but the rest kept going. They let out every torpedo they had on them and broke off. Ten of them hit the ship on its already damaged port side, tearing it to pieces. The ship careened sharply to the right.

"Damage report," said the captain.

"We can't open the ventral hangar doors and one missile hit our engines. We're losing altitude," said the hand. The ship began to head down to the surface of the planet.

"Aim for the farmland," said the captain. The bridge hands did the best they could, and it worked. The ship crashed to the ground, sending up water and earth as it skidded to a halt. Despite the damage, most of the crew was alright.

* * *

A lone pilot of the Home Guard was brushing his teeth when he heard the sounds of starfighters approaching.

_"Must be some guys coming from Ba Sing Se,"_he thought. He looked outside to see a squadron of Geonosian, ergo Jullan, starships heading for the base, with more Separatist craft behind them. The pilot was so freaked out he ran into the barracks where the other pilots were.

"G-g-g-g...S-s-s," he tried to say.

"Why do the guys who actually fight in these Clone Wars like to wake us up," said one sleeping shoulder.

"Shut up Li," said one disgruntled airmen, trying to catch some more sleep. The pilot scrambled to get his flightsuit on, only wearing a t-shirt and his aviator pants.

"They're coming, hurry up!" he yelled.

"Come on Li," said another one.

"What is it that's coming?" said another pilot.

"The Seps are here!" he yelled. Immediately afterwards, laser fire tore up the windows around them, sending the men onto the floor to avoid it.

"Li, why didn't you just say something?" said another pilot. Li just groaned and the men got up to get to their ships.

"Get to the fighters," said Thao, another pilot. The men scrambled as laser fire tore up the airfield. Soon the bombs starting falling.

A Vulture saw a group of airmen, pilots and ground crew, running for ships down the runway. It set it sights on them and let its quad-laser cannons loose. Dozens of the men fell to the ground as they were shot from above. Soon the Separatist ships began targeting the parked ships. Most of the ships were V-wings, ARC-170's, and Eta-2 Actis Interceptors. The ships began to blow up as the group of starfighters, about fifty in total, began to tear the airfield up.

Those who couldn't get to the ships turned towards the armory. Mostly getting DC-15's blasters of any kind, the men broke off into groups, using heavy anti-aircraft guns in parts of the airfield shielded by sandbags.

"The guns need ammo," said Thao when he got onto a gun. His group fired their blasters into the sky, trying to bring down the enemy fighters. He and another ground crew personnel ran to the ammo locker to get the rounds. The fighters were tearing the men apart as bombs and missiles blew apart men, ships, and buildings. The fire from the ground was barely doing anything but serve as an annoyance.

Thao and the other guy got back to the gun and loading it. Thao began firing at the fighters as the other man got a carbine from a fallen comrade and began firing. One ship was hit and fell down, crashing on the runway. A tri-fighter shot a missile and Thao and the others around him hit the deck. The missile crashed into the sandbags, but didn't explode. Everyone else near them ran from that position as Thao and his gun crew looked at the seemingly harmless missile.

"Come on, it's a dud," said Thao.

**BAM!**

The gun emplacement was completely obliterated, no trace remaining of the men who fought there.

Li and another crew member were trying to find a good time to launch their ARC, but no opportunity showed itself.

That is until a speeder showed up filled with an assortment of characters: four human and two alien. They all hopped out and got under some cover. Li and the other man hopped out and got under some cover as a missile streaked for his ship. They made it out just in time as the ship exploded into flames. Unknowingly, Li and the other man, whose name was Teiko, fell in next to the mysterious group.

"Are you the Avatar?" said Li, recognizing him.

"Yes, but unless we can get to some ships I'm going to be a dead one," said Taran.

"We can't launch from here, that's all I know. It's suicide," said Li.

"Taran, there's no where else," said Anakin. Taran racked his mind on it before his eyes widened in realization.

"There's one place," said Taran. "It's a mechanic strip, but it has ships."

"Can we got with you?" said Li and Teiko.

"Yes, and get five more people," said Taran. They all ran for the speeder as Li got some other gunners to go with them. As soon as it was loaded to max capacity, they took off.

"Where's this place at anyway?" said Obi-Wan.

"It's about twenty clicks from here. I hope it hasn't been hit yet," said Taran.

"And how do you know this place?" said Obi-Wan.

"Let's just say me and the crew chief go back," said Taran.

"How far back?" said Obi-Wan.

"He was friends with my past life," said Taran.

"Oh, so you unknowingly know him," said Obi-Wan.

"To an extent."

"What's he like?"

"Very blunt."

* * *

"You hear those explosions? They're coming here next. Hurry your asses!" he yelled at his 40 man ground crew as they placed ammo in flak guns and anti-aircraft guns and busily fixed up their starfighters. Toru, a large burly man with a permanent scowl and wild black hair looked out to a patch of dust heading for him. He usually, well all the time, went by his nickname Brick. He took out his electrobinoculars and zoomed in to the weirdest assortment of people in a speeder. More than a dozen crammed into, half of them Earth Kingdom and looked like they'd just woken up, and the others he hadn't seen before, save for one.

The speeder parked near him and the occupants jumped off.

"Taran, what the hell is going on?" said the man.

"Brick, we're under attack," said Taran.

"I can see that," said Brick.

_"He's right about blunt,"_thought Anakin and Obi-Wan.

"Do you have any ships ready?" said Taran.

"I got five. All are Interceptors," said Brick. "I've got two good to go, two need fuel and the other needs missiles."

"Good," said Taran.

"Quick, get in the hangar," said Brick, pulling out a flechette shotgun. Everyone ran in their as a trio of Hyena bombers flew overhead. They crouched in the shadows of the hangar, watching them pass by.

"So what's the plan?" said Li.

"Okay, we need five pilots. I'm thinking me, Anakin, Ahsoka, Taran, and a fifth one can go up there," said Obi-Wan.

"I'll go," said a pilot named Hue.

"Brick, anything to add?" said Obi-Wan.

"The rest of us will lay down cover fire for you. I got a heavy-repeater on that side of the runway," said Brick, pointing to an area enclosed with sandbags.

"Good. Let's go!" yelled Anakin. They all got up and ran to their stations before they had to hit the ground and get behind something as a squadron of Vultures passed by.

"Did they see us?" said Ahsoka.

"Naw. I don't see any ordinance on them. I think they're going home," said Brick.

"That's good," said Chuchi. Brick looked up.

"We got high-level bombers with ordinance, they're gonna turn this place into a crater. Get on the ships!" he yelled. They all took off towards the other side of the airfield.

"Tri-fighters!" yelled Li. Those who had weapons aimed them to their left and fired at the tri-fighters. The four Jedi pulled out their lightsabers, ready to deflect anything away from them.

The tri-fighters opened up with their twin blasters. Some of the men fell, never to rise again. The tri-fighters unleashed a volley of missiles that sent more to the ground, and some in the air. Taran hit the ground as an explosion went off next to him. Luckily he was fine.

Anakin helped him up to his feet when the fighters passed by. Soon the sound of dropping bombs filled their ears.

"Get down!" yelled Obi-Wan. A chorus of explosions was heard as the bombs hit certain parts of the airfield and the hangar they had ran from. It blew up with such force that everyone fell to the ground.

"If you're still alive, let's move!" yelled Brick. Li, armed with a DC-15 rifle, picked up the ammo from a fallen comrade and ran for the gun emplacent. Teiko manned it and the other gunners ran to places where they could lay cover fire. Padme and Chuhci were among them, both with DC-15 carbines.

Anakin, Taran, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Hue got into their fighters. The surviving ground crew did what they could to the fighters that needed the essentials.

"Hue, go on ahead," said Brick from a walkie-talkie like comlink.

"Alright," said Hue. His Interceptor hovered on the ground before he began to fly down the runway to build some altitude.

"Hue, pull out, you have tri-fighters on you," said Brick. Everyone watched as the three closed in on his fighter. Li and the anti-aircraft gunner fired at them. One went down, but it was replaced by another one.

"Pull out!" yelled Brick. Hue tried to bank to the left, but the tri-fighters opened fire. His right wing was hit, and then his engines were next.

"AHH!" yelled Hue before his fighter crashed into the ground, flames erupting from the fighter as it shattered to pieces. Those on the ground could only watch in horror and shock.

"Taran, Anakin, go now," said Obi-Wan.

"And be safe," said Ahsoka. The two nodded as their cockpits closed. Their fighters slowly hovered before they to headed down the runaway to pick up altitude.

The same group of tri-fighters saw them and turned back around to attack. They were too late. The men on the ground cheered when they saw the two had gotten into the sky. Anakin and Taran were airborne, but that didn't mean the droids were through with them.

"Peel off and try to outmaneuver them," said Anakin.

"Got it," said Taran as he peeled away. Unfortunately for them, a group of Jullan starfighters peeled off to attack them too. Taran had the starships, Anakin had the tri-fighters.

Anakin dived down towards the surface, going through a military installation that was under attack at the moment. He weaved in between buildings as the tri-fighters fired as fast as their cannons could allow them. Their fire zipped past Anakin, hit buildings or the streets below filled with men trying to get to cover. A medical speeder blew up when two solid shots hit it.

Anakin turned alongside the water of another lake near the base not far from Lake Laogai. The tri-fighters continued shooting at him, throwing up geysers of water. An Earth Kingdom soldier on a heavy-repeating blaster fired at the tri-fighters chasing Anakin, successfully hitting one of them. The smoking starship fell down, colliding into a building and exploding into pieces.

"Now there's two," said Anakin. He pushed his accelerators to the max, dodging the fire from the two fighters as they chewed up buildings and structures.

Taran was dodging the starships on his tail as well, zipping in and out of their fire zones.

"Taran, where are you?" said Anakin.

"I'm somewhere over Ba Sing Se. They're starting to bomb the city too," said Taran. Anakin heard him choke back the last part as it was lost in emotion for a minute.

"We need to end this chase now. Time to play chicken," said Anakin.

"I'll be over there," said Taran. A shot from the tri-fighters clipped a part of the wing, making the ship jerk for a moment.

"Blast it," said Anakin. He hurried over to the place where he and Taran would meet. Soon he could see the shape of Taran's ship heading for him.

"We need to do this really tight," said Anakin.

"As in the last minute?" said Taran.

"Exactly," said Anakin. The two pushed their engines to the limit as they flew forward toward each other, still being shot at.

"Go right!" yelled Anakin. He and Taran pulled their controls as hard as they could. They were so close the bottom of their hulls scraped past one another. The tri-fighters and starships weren't as trained as they were and two of the starships and the two remaining tri-fighters collided into one another.

"Good job Gears," said Anakin. Taran sighed in relief and relaxed, but not before his starfighter was hit on the bottom of the hull. Luckily it was the more armored side of the ship, but it did jerk it. He looked back to see one starship behind him, the one that was chasing Anakin. He tried weaving, dodging, and every trick in the book he knew, but the starship kept on him. As he passed outposts near the base near the lake, he thought of an idea.

"Brick, you still alive?" said Taran.

"Yeah, whaddya need?" said Brick.

"Get some guns on those towers. I'm coming in for a pass," said Taran. "You got two minutes."

"Come on, I need all of you," he said to Padme, Chuchi, Li, Teiko, and a few other gunners.

"Bring the heavy repeater," he said. Teiko got it and they all ran for an observation power.

"Are you up there yet?" said Taran, still dodging.

"It's a ten story tower kid!" yelled Brick from his comlink. They ran up the tower as fast as their legs could carry them. By the time they got up, they were all about to fall down from exhaustion.

"Set them up right there," said Brick. They all got into position and were ready by the time they saw Taran's starship coming by.

"Don't fire yet," said Brick.

"Are you guys there yet?" said Taran.

"Damnit kid just fly!" yelled Brick. Taran revved his thrusters to the best of their ability.

"Hold your fire," said Brick. Once Taran's ship flew past their emplacement he gave the command.

"Fire!" he yelled. Everyone fired their weapons at the passing enemy starship. It began to smoke and soon plummeted to the ground, crash-landing ont eh other side of the airfield.

"Good shot guys," said Taran. Anakin came up on Taran's wing, flanking him.

"Where to now?" said Anakin.

"Lake Laogai."

* * *

The destruction on Cruiser Row was reaching its climax. The men struggling in the water could only watch as a flight of Vultures ran by for a last pass. Suddenly, as if a miracle, one of the Vultures was hit by green laser fire. It spiraled in the air before blowing up. The men on the ships and in the water cheered when they saw two Interceptors chasing the last three Vultures.

"They're pulling up, take them out Taran," said Anakin. Two Vultures broke off in their own group, leaving one for Taran. Taran stuck in to the Vultures flight path, copying its every move and keeping it from fleeing. The Vulture veered as Taran began to fire. Taran used his insight to predict the Vultures next move. The Vulture banked left, but Taran was already anticipating it. His lasers were already firing, and the Vulture was sliced in half from the fire.

Elsewhere, Anakin made short work of one of his enemies, shooting the wing off. The last one pulled up, trying to escape into the atmosphere.

"No you don't!" said Anakin. His laser cannons hit the lower half of the Vulture, splitting it half and sending the two pieces tumbling to the ground.

The attack was over.

* * *

Smoke and ash choked the skies around Lake Laogai and Ba Sing Se as ships and buildings burned. Everywhere was chaos as wounded and dying men were carried to med stations, hospitals, or anywhere with a roof. Ahsoka and Obi-Wan had dispatched of the enemy aircraft that were beginning to attack the city. They were first to arrive back to the airfield, followed by Taran and Anakin.

"Good shooting guys," said Brick. They all nodded. Suddenly, Li broke off from them all, holding his gun towards the crashed starship. He advanced cautiously towards it, ready to shoot if needed. Teiko followed behind. Li carefully checked the cockpit. To his horror, he saw the body of a dead Jullan pilot, the inside of the ship decorated with Jullan symbols and a curse against the Elementians. Li shook with rage and kicked the starship, shaking it slightly.

"Li, what's wrong?" said Taran.

"They weren't just Seps. They were Jullans."


	7. Retaliation

The last of the Separatist ships had touched down and the fleet was preparing to get into hyperspace before any more Republic ships could arrive. Ceran was in the hangar, studying the last minute preparations and a briefing of the damage they caused. A droid commander came to him for the report.

"Sir, here is the final count. Eight Republic cruisers heavily damaged, two sunk, one destroyed, and another grounded. Hundreds of starfighters on the ground destroyed, and refueling stations utterly destroyed," said the droid.

"The dockyards?" said Ceran.

"Heavily damaged in all three locations."

"Casualties?"

"Estimated five thousand casualties for their side. Only 51 of our ships were shot down."

This is splendid news. Prepare the fleet to leave, said Ceran.

"Yes sir," said the droid.

* * *

The Earth King, as well as leaders from the other nations, gathered in Republic City. Taran was to give the speech since he was the Avatar, the evident de facto leader of the four nations. However, he had declined. He instead appointed Long to give the speech as he helped in med stations around Ba Sing Se, as did the others.

In the station, he was helping a wounded clone, using the water to repair his burns around hiks body. The clone grunted in pain before he relaxed.

"Thank you Commander," said the clone.

"Anytime trooper," said Taran. Taran's clothes were scorched in some places, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. His clothes also had traces of blood from the patients. He moved on to the next one, whose eyes were closed.

"Okay, let's see what I can do for y..." said Taran before he noticed something odd. He put his hand over the mans heart. It wasn't beating. Taran sighed. He moved on to the next patient, a Water Tribe warrior. To his horror, the man was coughing up huge amounts of blood. Taran rushed to his side, his hands on the sides of the man's head.

"Look at me. You're going to be fine," said Taran. The man was still coughing, his body shaking violently. Taran tried to heal him, but the man seized his hands.

"L-le-ave me-e. H-h-el-p o-th-ers," the man tried to say, but he gave one last violent twitch before he died. Taran's hands were covered in blood. He backed away from the dead man, on the edge of just losing it completely before the sounds of other wounded men reached his ears. No matter how frightening it was, he had to save as many of them as possible. Washing his hands clean, he went to tend to the others.

Throughout the entire city, the telescreens blared out the speech Long was to give. It called for all Elementians to do their duty and to declare war on Julla. Millions watched it throughout the nations, even in the Air Nation. When it was finished, the delegates from all nations applauded, calling for war. Within hours, the planet, which had just suffered a massive attack, was on its way to mobilization.

Obi-Wan and Anakin had seen it too, and both were deeply troubled.

"You think we can convince them to stop this? said Anakin.

"I highly doubt it. After an attack like this, they'll want blood," said Obi-Wan.

Well can we get Taran to convince them?" said Anakin.

"I'm afraid that Taran may be on their side," said Obi-Wan.

"But he's a Jedi. His alliegance comes to the Order first," said Anakin.

"With him, the deal was to keep his planet first. You do remember that he needs them as much as they need him here," said Obi-Wan. He remembered the mess the Jedi Council was in when deciding his fate with Masters from the four nations arguing over he should stay or not. Yoda himself had to negotiate because of this. In the end, they agreed Taran should become a Jedi, but if Elementia needed him, he had to come.

"And besides, he's already mad enough as it is against the Jullans. I'm afraid that even if I were to try and convince, he wouldn't agree to it," said Obi-Wan. Anakin sighed.

"So what do we do?" said Anakin.

"The Elementians will probably attack Julla. The Senate is on their side, and so is the Council. We need to make sure that the Elementians aren't excessively cruel to the the Jullans," said Obi-Wan.

"And I'm guessing we'll fight with them," said Anakin.

"We do. The Senate has ordered our army to accompany the other fleet. It appears the droids have set up many defenses their since Julla has an abundance of natural resources for starships," said Obi-Wan.

"So this will be just like Rattatak," said Anakin.

"I'm afraid so," said Obi-Wan.

"Padme and Chuchi were called back to Coruscant. They said they would stay here to care for the people," said Anakin.

"As long as they remain here, we have nothing to worry about, said Obi-Wan. "Where's Ahsoka?"

"She's helping the wounded too," said Anakin. "So is Taran."

"I think that's what we should do too," said Obi-Wan as they headed to the nearest med station.

* * *

(1 week later)

The wartorn landscape around Lake Laogai was being busily repaired as ships that had sunk into the lake were resurfaced, refitted, and rearmed. Thousands of soldiers from the four nations and from clone detachments were embarking on the ships that would take them to gain the revenge they highly sought for. Each banner was painted beautifully, and each starfighter had the phrase, Remember Lake Laogai.

Taran looked on through a window from a closeby building, watching the tanks, men, and weapons load onto the ships. Inside he knew it was wrong to retaliate, but anger held onto his heart harder than a badger mole burrowed into its home. He wanted to make them pay for what they did, which he perceived as a cowardly attack on a people who weren't even thinking of actually attacking them. He knew that the Jedi Order wouldn't want him to fight on the planet, but they knew his allegiance to Elementia came first above anything unless it was a direct order from the Chancellor.

He wanted the Jullans to suffer the way he saw the citizens and soldiers suffer, some without limbs, other completely blown to pieces, and others who would bear the scars of the attack for the rest of their natural life.

As he stared out unmoving, he felt Ahsoka's presence nearby. She was about to walk to him, but then must have decided against it because she started to walk away.

"Don't go, said Taran," still looking out the window.

"I wanted to know if you're okay," she said, still sounding unsure whether she should be there or not. Yesterday had been hard on Taran as a baby who'd been seriously burned from the attack finally died. Taran did everything he could to save it, but he failed. Ahsoka tried to comfort him, but all she got was him yelling at her saying, "It's not your duty to try and see them away from harm! You have no idea how I feel!" He walked away from her, sorry for what he said, but couldn't face her about it afterwards. Ahsoka knew he didn't mean it, and she knew he was feeling disheartened, but his words still hurt.

"I didn't mean to say that to you, I was just angry and didn't want to talk to anyone after that," said Taran, turning towards her. One thing about his eyes wast that you could tell which emotion he was feeling. Right now she could nothing but pure sadness, and shame.

"I'm not angry at you," she said, walking towards him till her hands were holding his.

"I just felt...overwhelmed," said Taran.

"It's fine," she said. They looked at each for a long moment before they pulled in close and kissed each other, sighing into each others' mouth. They stared like that for a long moment, seeming like hours to them. When they let go, the pressed their foreheads together, their eyes seeming seeming to send their questions at instant message speed. The sounds of their breathing, besides that of the machinery outside, was the only thing they heard.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. He shook his head.

Taran, let me in, she said. His eyes turned a darker shade, when he was feeling sadness. They went down to the floor, his chin resting on her shoulder as she rubbed his back to soothe him.

"I...I don't even know I feel anymore," said Taran. "It's as if I lost the ability to feel, or even care about these things that happen."

"Don't say that. You cared deeply about your people. I've never seen you work to the point of exhaustion like that before over anything," said Ahsoka.

"But everytime I care so much about anyone, they always end up getting hurt, and there's nothing I can do about it. I don't want to go through the same thing I felt on Hypori," he said, his arms holding her tighter as if afraid she would get loose and vanish. She hugged him tighter as well as she went to work to calm him down. She did this by 'going into his mind' and it was like they were having a conversation in their minds. After five minutes, Taran pulled away to face her.

"Please help us to set things right," he said.

"What are your methods?"

"Only attack when attacked."

At least, that's what the original plan was.

* * *

(Two weeks into invasion)

Despite initial successes, the fighting was soon down to a bitter stalemate. Massive trench fortifications were thrown up by both sides, the Jullans always under continuous artillery fire and bombing, with Republic forces being repaid in kind at various times.

The initial landings went smoothly, a prolonged but one-sided space battle taking place between the two forces. As the Elementian-Republic forces spread out, there were patterns of destruction on an unprecedented scale. The order from High Command was to not harm any civilians unless provoked, but some units completely ignored those orders. Most of them were Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation soldiers, who had been hit the hardest in the surprise attack. They destroyed homes, burned farms and villages, beat up women and old men, and sometimes when taking Jullan prisoners they executed them without a second thought. Their superior officers did nothing, turning a blind eye if they were under Elementian officers.

Taran was aware of these crimes, but a part of him was telling him they deserved what they got coming to them as he sat in his dugout on the frontlines. Revenge was wrong, but even he knew that sometimes only some could take things for so long. His people were those people.

Beside him in the trenches was a platoon of elite clone under his command. Some were familiar faces. Boil and Waxer were two of them, both having been promoted to the ranks of ARC troopers. The rest were elite clones, handpicked by him himself. While Anakin, Obi-Wan, and various Elementian generals lead the larger forces, he and Ahsoka were in charge of elite and veteran units that performed the duties of small raiding parties, stealth missions, or demolition teams. They were proven deadly opponents, the Jullans trembling in fear if they saw two Jedi with green lightsabers coming for them.

Today was another dull day, Waxer on sniper patrol up and down their section of the trench while the men rested. It had been a hard five days for them, filled mostly by shelling and attacking other trenches. Nearby was an AT-TE as a support tank, participating in the shelling of the Jullan trenches.

"How long is this gonna go on?" said a ARC trooper named Hardline.

"Until every last one of those mudrackersare dead," said another ARC trooper named Barricade.

"Serves 'em right for what they did on Elementia," said Boil.

"Yeah. I'm surprised sometimes Commander Cyneran hasn't gone into the Avatar state and kill all of them," said Barricade.

"Quiet guys," said Waxer. He saw that Taran was in a deep, meditative look sitting cross-legged on the floor of the trench.

"What's he doing?" said Hardline.

"He's meditating. Just leave him alone for now," said Waxer. The clones sat back, listening to the sounds of their artillery pounding the Jullan lines.

Taran was meditating not jut to find peace of mind, but for another reason. His mind was searching for the one person he knew he was certain was on this planet.

* * *

"I hate having to visit these lines. They're all going to die anyway," said Grievous as he and Ceran accompanied by a squad of commando droids and Magnaguards moved through the forward trenches of the Jullan lines, seeing the mayhem before them. Everywhere they looked, one explosion after another took away either a section of a trench, a squad of Jullan or droid soldiers, or threw up mud and dirt everywhere. A running joke in both trenches was, "I've never seen a clean soldier."

"No, we need this planet for future raids. Why do you think headquarters sends us daily reinforcements?" said Ceran, unmoved.

"Or try to. The last reinforcements only numbered 1,000 opposed to the 20,000 they promised. The Republic's blockade is tightening. Better to get off planet now," said Grievous.

"We will not retreat until Dooku tells us to. Until then, we're stuck here," said Ceran.

"And what are we suppose to do while they continue to unleash all types of hell on our forces?" said Grievous.

"Be creative. Cause some mayhem while you're here," said Ceran. He went away, leaving Grievous with his Magnaguards. Going through the trench lines, ignoring the deaths of a group of Jullan soldiers who were thrown into the air from a direct hit on their bunker. He didn't stop until he had walked near the distance of two miles. Stopping he peered over the parapet of sandbags and low walls of steel to get a glimpse of the Republic lines before he hastily looked down when a sniper round passed by.

"This is up to my liking," he said evilly. He looked around at the soldiers in the trench by him. They were worn out, exhausted, and the droids looked ready to break into pieces.

"This is all I get? Pathetic," he said to himself. He took the time to inspect all the soldiers around him, totaling around 56, half of them Jullans. There was only one SBD present.

"You 56 soldiers...(explosion on the outskirt of the trench that kills a few)...49 soldiers are to be outfitted into a special ops platoon. You will then be doing covert operations to stall the Republic's operations until the full brunt of our reinforcements arrive. In time your numbers will swell," said Ceran.

"But sir, we're all near-dead and we can't carry on anymore," said a Jullan soldier. Ceran smiled.

"I see, so you want to go back home and rest up is that it. How many of you wish to leave?" said Ceran. None of the others raised their hands.

"So it's just you, the one weak link in the platoon. Tell me, are you tired?" said Ceran.

"Why yes sire I a..," said the soldier, but a quick flick of Ceran's lightsaber ended his sentence as his head tumbled off his neck and onto the ground.

"Any others wish to be relieved?" said Ceran. The men vigorously shook their heads.

"Good, that's what I like to see," said Ceran.


	8. Semper Fi

(2 weeks later)

The Republic army was now on the outskirts of the capital city. Repeated assaults on the trenches fortifying it were thrown back everytime, even with Jedi at the head of the assaults. Ceran's unit, known as Flag Unit, was the morale booster of the beleaguered Separatist forces. Republic intelligence tried to find ways to know of their location, but the unit's whereabouts were unknown.

Up in space, a Separatist battleship was able to break past the blockade and bring in additional troops and supplies, giving the Separatist forces in the city a brief respite. More Separatist ships were coming every day, and the Republic knew the blockade couldn't go on forever. Taking the planet was crucial to this, for they knew once the planet was liberated they could push back any fleet the Separatists sent their way.

A war meeting took place one night that week. All senior and junior commanders were present. Half of the room were Elementian generals while the Republic had the other half, six of them being Jedi. In all there was 36 people in the room.

"I say we should attack now," said General Sung, an Earth Kingdom general. There was a fierce debate of those who were with his plan and those against it. It was no surprise that the ones who disagreed were the Republic officers. Taran stayed out of it, not caring what was to become of Julla's fate. He had a different reason for not saying a word. He was divided between his loyalties to both sides and decided to stay out of it.

"If we attack we may succeed, but Ceran and Grievous are inside that city and they won't go down without taking a large number of our men, who we all know we can't afford to lose," said Obi-Wan.

"And we all have seen the casualties inflicted on us by their units," said Anakin. There was a murmuring of agreement from both sides.

"But the time is right to end this conflict once and for all. The Jullans know they are beaten. It's only a matter of time," said a Fire Nation general.

"Over eagerness only leads to a disaster," said Ahsoka.

"I wish to agree with the Republic, but we know we can't stay on here much longer, not with our ships being continuously hammered," said Long. Everyone in there knew it was true.

"So what can we do?" said Cody.

"Drawing them out would be a good plan," said Obi-Wan.

"That will do. How will this work?" said a Water Tribe general.

"Send in what looks like all our men, but have our rear-echelon units form un when they are seeming to overtake those units and finish them off," said Long. There was a murmuring of agreement by them all.

"How will they take this ruse?" said Anakin.

"Me, you, Ahsoka, and Taran, with some of the powerful bender units will be apart of it, as well as our elite clone units," said Obi-Wan.

"That sounds like a plan," said Anakin.

* * *

(Jullan capital)

"This battle is lost. We have no way to stop the Republic and Elementian forces if they attack us now," yelled the Jullan king. Ceran and Grievous were watching him with silent content, not caring how the planet's "ruler" was spazzing out.

"Does he ever shut up?" said Ceran amongst themselves.

"Shall I do it?" said Grievous, his hands inching towards his lightsabers.

"No. He'll be dead sooner or later. Put him with Flag Unit alongside me. He'll die sooner or later," said Ceran.

"Any amount of fairplay?"

"Unlikely."

"In another life, me and and you could have been splendid allies. Just not in this one," said Grievous.

"The feeling's mutual," said Ceran. "Make sure all our troops are alert and ready."

"Already taken care of. We'll be ready for anything they have."

"Good.

* * *

(Trenches)

Ahsoka peered above her trenche's fire step to gaze at the city. Everything was quiet on that side. Still peering out, using her senses to detect any presence, she found still no more activity. Going back into her trench, she prepared for the imminent attack. Her men were ready, especially Echo and Fives, and also Gunny (clone saved from my story Torture). Every gun was cocked, every finger on the trigger, every man ready to give their lives to see this battle over. Grasping her lightsaber and her new shoto lightsaber (keeping up with the season since I haven't updated in awhile), she waited for the signal.

She was also wondering why Taran never spoke in the meeting. He just stood there, calm and collected as usual, but made no move to say his mind. Perhaps secretly he didn't want to attack the city, but then she remembered how he was after the attack on Lake Laogai.

_"Maybe he just didn't want to offend either side by his opinion,"_ she thought. It was truly hard to be the Avatar and a Jedi at the same time.

At that moment a flight of Y-wings flew overhead, dropping their payloads in a carpet bomb fashion over the Separatist positions with such force that a bunker was seen flying into the air before it crash to pieces on the ground. The attack was on.

"Forward!" yelled Ahsoka. She and her men, and thousands more at that, went forward towards the Separatist positions. There were no war yells or yells in general, just the sounds of thousands of feet heading for the trenches. All four Jedi commanders had their lightsabers off so as to not give away their positions. Ahsoka turned her head slightly to see Taran leading his men. He had a determined face on, only looking forward, never around.

They stopped at the foot of the trenches ready to attack whatever was in there. To there an astonishment, besides a few dead bodies, nothing was there. They were deserted.

"Proceed into the city," said Obi-Wan. The troops went at steady pace as they formed into groups, each platoon about one meter from another. They cautiously picked their way through the fortifications. Any movement was answered by hundreds of guns aiming at the source before they saw it was a piece of fallen debris. They sill moved forward regardless.

After moving through the outskirts and into the city they saw the city's square up ahead, as well as the palace complex.

"Be ready," said Taran to his men. His men nodded. They all knew a surprise attack was imminent. In fact, they were practically begging for it. They all knew the plan.

Right on cue the order was given.

Out from every building, every alley, every place with an entrance, was filled with droids and Jullans shooting and charging towards them. The clones and Elementians fired back as the two sides attacked. Immediately the Jullans had the advantage as they utilized the buildings to rain fire down on the soldiers. Even the commanders knew they couldn't stay out there much longer.

"Get into the buildings!" yelled Anakin to his men as they rushed for the nearest building. Anakin deflected as many shots aiming for his troops as possible before he and his men stormed into the building, switching to house-to-house fighting. The other commanders did the same thing as they rushed for a building to take cover from. Once in they resorted to close-quarters or hand-to-hand combat.

Taran cut down three battle droids and knocked a Jullan out with his fist as he and his soldiers fought their way into the building. Elsewhere the clones were showing they were superior to the Jullans and droids when it came to fighting up close and personal, with only SBD's and droidekas being a match as their volume of fire either met or outclassed their own.

Taran's men fought like the elite soldiers they were. Boil and Waxer were more than a match for even the most deadly droid to come across, and ten times more than the average Jullan soldier. They unleashed barrages of their DC-15's, never stopping for a short pause unless to find a new target. Taran had only lost a few clones, at that was to the Jullans shooting them from outside the building they were fighting in.

House-to-house fighting was a dark, dirty, smoky new environment for all forces. Tables and and desks were overturned to provide cover, thermal dets were thrown at the rate of two per second to dislodge feisty defenders or attackers. Whole buildings were destroyed as AT-TE's and TX-130's fired their missiles or turrets at the various buildings arrayed with the red flashing lights of laserbolts. An AAT pushed through a barricaded street to provide cover fire.

Rex and Cody were near an AT-TE that exploded from a direct hit by the AAT. The shock of the explosion sent them to the ground.

"We've gotta take that tank out," said Rex.

"Copy that. Let's go," said Cody. Cody and Rex ran towards the AAT, dodging fire and explosions as they raced past pinned downed soldiers and a random enemy every now and again. A TX-130 laid down some cover fire for them as the two clones reached the AAT undetected by the tank. Cody helped Rex get on top of the tank while he provided cover, throwing a thermal det into a building where a Jullan sniper had just smashed a window.

On top of the Separatist tank, Rex opened the hatch to the turret and threw a thermal det into it. He jumped off just as an explosion on the inside, a part of the tank flying off as the repulsorlifts gave and the tank crashed to the ground, useless.

A burned hand opened the hatch and the head of a Jullan soldier was visible. Once outside he fell off the damaged tank and tried to get up again as he took a blaster pistol out, but was gunned down by a squad of clone troopers who were providing cover for their two officers.

Obi-Wan and his men were now back into the streets after having cleared out a building. Alongside Elementian soldiers they shot at the mass of Jullan-droid soldiers in other buildings and in the streets. Rockets from the heavy troopers blew wide holes into the street buildings, and men, and LAAT's streaked in overhead for strafing runs or putting more men into the fight, as well as extracting the wounded.

"How long will this madness go on?" said Anakin as he found himself next to his padawan.

"I don't know, but let's hope it's not for long," said Ahsoka. They knew they were steadily pressing the Separatist forces back, but by the pace it was going they'd be fighting for two days straight.

All that was put to the test when the largest crab droid they'd seen made its way through the streets. It stood over 6 meters tall and its twin guns shot up men and the streets they were on. Behind it were two OG-9 spider droids and dwarf spider droids, along with regiments of more soldiers. Taran and his men, who'd just recently come out of the building they were fighting in and linked up with and Elementian force, saw the incoming force. Taran immediately got onto his comlink.

"Cutter, are your artillery positions moved up?" said Taran.

"Yes sir," said a clone voice.

"Fire at point 0-6-7," said Taran as his men fired at the new forces.

"Acknowledged," said Cutter. Hearing the blasts of the shells, Taran and his men got down. The street the reinforcements were on was soon replaced by the sight of dust, explosions, and an occasional limb or body part flying high. The bombardment continued. Anakin called in an airstrike that completely destroyed the street. Only the crab droid was left, it dodging direct hits by the high-explosive bombs and shells. Ahsoka saw her chance to kill the droid and jumped onto the side of a building, pushing off of it to get on the droid's back. Her lightsaber impaled its back. The droid took notice of her and bucked up. Ahsoka held on, but she then lost her grip when the droid jumped onto the side of a building. She dropped to the ground, weaponless save for her shoto.

The droid shot down at her as she deflected and dodged the shots from the droid. Taran saw her in trouble and ran into the adjacent building. Unfortunately, it was full of droids.

"Damnit," he said silently to himself as he deflected their blaster bolts back towards them. used his right fist to send an enormous stream of fire that completely took out every droid on that floor. The flames curled up the stairs and did the same on the next floors. Those who were watching saw flames shoot out of the building as the Avatar unleashed only a small portion of his power to take out an entire building.

Seeing that the droids were no more than twisted, melted metal figurines Taran dived out the window onto the crab droid's back and took out Ahsoka's lightsaber.

"Ahsoka!" he yelled. throwing her back her lightsaber. She caught it, reactivating as Taran stabbed his lightsaber back down into the crab droid and sliced downwards. Ahsoka threw her shoto into the droid's brain cavity. It's chip haywiring the droid dropped to the ground, twitching before both Padawans put it to rest with two simultaneous stabs to its central body.

"Thanks," she said.

"Anytime," said Taran. The two turned to see the way was clear up ahead.

"Draw them to us?" said Taran.

"Go for it," said Ahsoka. The two Jedi teens ran down the street, deflecting and dodging the enemy blaster fire.

"Where are they going?" said Anakin.

"They're luring them towards them," said Obi-Wan.

"Sir, we just got a thermal reading from one of our boys on a gunship. You're not going to like it," said Cody. The scan of the city confirmed his words. Obi-Wan's heart sunk when he saw the readings.

"What? What is it?" said Anakin. Obi-Wan showed him the readings as they began to run for Taran and Ahsoka, blocked off by a strong assortment of Separatist forces.

"Oh no," said Anakin.

"We need to get to them as fast as possible if we want their ruse to work. We know what will happen if we fail them" said Obi-Wan as he and the remaining men charged before they were held in place. His thermal scan had showed zones full of red and yellow around the palace area, the same area Taran and Ahsoka were running to.

* * *

Taran and Ahsoka stopped running at they got into the middle of what they saw was a marketplace, ducking by some carts. So far no one was shooting at them for the moment, but they knew the city was crawling with Separatist forces. For now the two hoped their little diversion was working.

"They followed us?" said Ahsoka.

"I think so, but you know how fast droids can run," said Taran. The two caught their breath, careful to remain silent.

"Taran, before we start to fight again, tell me something. Why didn't you say anything at the meeting?" said Ahsoka.

"My opinion wouldn't have been well-received," said Taran, his eyes darkening again.

"But it's not like the Elementian generals would have been offended," said Ahsoka.

"You don't understand. I would have sided with them," he said, his eyes still darkening. Ahsoka was silent for a minute.

"But why?" she finally said.

"They're my people, I have to," he said, looking away from her.

"But you have your own opinion, no matter whose allegiance you have. Your still and individual whose opinion should be heard by all. What was your heart telling you?" said Ahsoka. Taran thought for a minute about that.

"You guys were right. When this over I have to say something," said Taran. He looked back at her to show her his eyes were back to their natural shine. Her hand found his upper arm as the two smiled at each other.

"Oh how touching," said a voice above them. They looked up to see Taran's 'brother' hop off the edge of a building, landing onto the top of a low-story market building about fifteen feet away.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you two had something going on between you," said Ceran. Ahsoka and Taran activated their lightsabers.

"What do you want?" said Taran, angrily.

"Come on, you're not that slow," said Ceran, turning on his yellow lightsaber. "You know you can't beat me, and you're hopelessly surrounded."

"We know that," said Ahsoka.

"Oh, so then you won't be surprised by this," said Ceran. He whistled and from out of every building surrounding the marketplace came the meanest looking Jullans Taran and Ahsoka had ever seen. With them were scores of commando droids, SBD's, droidekas, and lastly Grievous's Magnaguards. Lastly, Grievous himself came, his two lightsabers already in hand. Taran could see that every Jullan had on his clothes or armor the Jullan symbol, two swords crossed over a blackened sun and black stars.

Flag Unit

"As you can see, there's no way you can get through this," said Ceran. Taran looked at Ahsoka, and she nodded. They deactivated their lightsabers.

"Sorry, no prisoners will be taken," said Ceran. A man who the two knew was the Jullan king smiled in triumph. He advanced as his men looked on, their revenge apparent in their eyes.

"We've been waiting a long time for this moment," he said as he unsheathed his sword.

"You know you don't have to do this. Things are different now since you all were exiled here. Just stop what you're doing," said Taran.

"Not a chance," said the king. He charged and swung at Taran. Taran and her backflipped into the air, using the Force to aid their jump to land thirty feet away. The street was deserted, but they ran down it, pursued by the men and droids of Flag Unit. They kept running until they got to a crossroads before they stopped. Ceran, Grievous, and the king were in the front.

"What are you doing?" said Ceran.

"Evening up the odds a little more," said Ahsoka. From behind them out of alleys and the streets came the Republic forces headed by Anakin, Obi-Wan, Long, and the other Elementian generals came out.

"That's better," said Ceran, his evil smirk back. The Elementians stared down at the Jullans with equal anger as they were giving.

"So then, guess there's no turning back now," said Anakin. All the Jedi activated their lightsabers just as Ceran and Grievous did.

"Get em'," said Ceran. Both sides ran at the other at the same time. Bright beams of light shot out from both sides, many men falling after hit with them. The four Jedi, and the two Sith Acolytes took on the men surrounding them, dispatching them easily.

Ceran saw Taran fighting two commando droids. He cut the Water Tribe soldier he was fighting, pulled down a Earth Kingdom soldier down to the ground, and slammed his lightsaber into Taran's lightsaber. Their swords sizzled together as they fought to press the other's weapon back. They both were pushed back from the sheer force of their strength and attacked. Ceran's moves were lightning fast, but Taran was able to hold his own against them. All the while, the fight resembled a huge brawl, all talk of tactics or strategies long since gone.

Ahsoka and Anakin teamed together to take out Grievous, who had just taken out a whole squad of Elementian Fire Nation soldiers.

"Miss us much Grievous?" said Anakin.

"Not much Skywalker," said Grievous, attacking them ferociously. Ceran and Taran were locked in an epic duel the likes of which few had ever seen. Their duel was at the very center of the fight as the two mirrored each others' moves as they unleashed their power on the other.

All around that plaza was a war zone. Fireballs, chunks of earth, gusts of air, waves of water, the clash of swords, and thousands of blaster lights were all around. It was hell on earth. The sounds of dying men, the screams of the wounded, the sounds of war.

Ahsoka fought Grievous to the best of her ability. The cyborg general kept her and Anakin busy, but not too busy. Ever so often she would sneak a glance to see how Taran was doing in his fight. He was fighting well, but she couldn't help but feel worried for him all the same.

Obi-Wan fought two Magnaguards at the same time, their electrostaffs blaring at full speed against the Jedi Master. Obi-Wan deflected them in a tense but relative ease, making sure to not get surrounded by the deadliest droids in the Separatist army.

Taran and Ceran's duel soon became heated, heated in the sense of Ceran's Firebending. Every so often, after a flurry of strikes against Taran, he would unleash a massive fireball or lethal fire attack at him. Taran would retaliate by dodging or blocking it with a wall of earth or a gust of air. Soon the fight turned into a pure Bending duel. Ceran unleashed a massive wave of earth at Taran. Taran split the wall in half and shot a fireball at Ceran. Ceran redirected the ball back towards Taran, who dodged it and sent off a hailstorm of air punches at Ceran. Ceran ran, dodging all of them that came his way, letting the Separatist forces take the damage. He jumped into the air on the 'wings' of an attack and flipped around to send a massive inferno of fire straight towards Taran and the Republic forces.

Taran jumped into the air and air kicked the wall of flame heading for them, dispersing it into the air. Ceran launched himself at Taran, lightsaber drawn. Taran deflected the blow and delivered a punch to Ceran's face. The two landed on the ground ten feet from the other. Ceran spit the blood out of his mouth and smiled.

"Nice one there brother. Now it's time to start the real fight," he said. He punched the ground with the heaviest blow anyone had ever seen. The ground around the entire plaza fell down to ten feet at its epicenter. Everyone in it was thrown off balance except for Ceran, Grievous, and the Magnaguards. Water sprayed into the air as the main aqueduct under the city was ruptured. Water quickly filled up the hole, leaving many soldiers on both sides flailing in the water. Ceran managed to evade to the shallows where the water came up to his waist. Taran wasn;t so lucky as he found himself immediately surrounded by water from all sides. As he swam to the surface and tried to find land, a water whip entangled around his neck and brought him to below the surface.

He fought to free himself from the tentacle, but there was no luck. He was losing oxygen fast, unable to breath as the whip continued to strangle him. He fought to get to the surface, his feet on the sand of the ground. His head managed to breach the surface for a split second before another tentacle pulled him down by the leg. He was trapped now as they held him fast under the water.

Ahsoka could see the whole thing happening as men from both sides, finding the shallow ends of the hole, still fought. She saw Ceran with an evil grin as his hands bent the water tentacles holding Taran underwater. Seeing that Grievous and her master were still trying to fight in the water, she rushed as fast as she could to Ceran from behind, the water slowing her down.

Ceran knew if he held Taran underwater for just one more minute he would drwon. He chuckled to himself as he pictured how helpless he was down there.

Suddenly his senses went off as a danger came from behind. He broke off his concentration to turn around and get slammed by a red-orange figure. Taran felt the tentacles disappear and he kicked off from the ground. His head breached the surface as he took in the gulp of air he desperately needed. He swam over to a shallower end to catch his breath, killing a Jullan who tried to split his skull in two with a battle axe. As he fought to regain his breath he turned around to see a sight that made his heart freeze.

Ceran and Ahsoka were fighting now, but it wasn't them fighting that made him freeze. Ceran had Ahsoka by the neck and was trying to drown her in the water. So far, it was working. Taran had to think quick. He knew by the time he got there, Ahsoka would be done for. Looking around he saw an Earth Kingdom helmet floating. He took it and threw it like a frisbee straight at Ceran's head. Ceran didn't even see it coming as he readied his lightsaber to kill Ahsoka, still holding her under with his left hand.

_CLANG!_ Ceran saw stars as the helmet hit him at an unprecedented speed. He fell sideways into the water, dazed. This gave Taran enough time to run/swim over to where Ahsoka was. He helped get her head above the water, getting them both to a shallower end to the his knees were underwater. He cradled her head as she fought to regain breath, coughing water out of her lungs. He helped her to get the water out of her body by bending it out. Once her breath was regained she smiled up at him as he smiled back. Looking around he saw the fight was dying. Small enclaves of Jullan soldiers were backed into corners or pockets and forced to surrender. The droids fought on, but they were cut down mercilessly.

Taran saw Ceran running off somewhere. He got up from where Ahsoka was, lightsaber in hand. He ran as fast as he could, dodging or jumping over anyone in his path. He knew he couldn't catch up to Ceran when a squad of commando droids stood in his way. As he dodged blows from their swords he saw Ceran knock a soldier off from an ostrich horse and rode it towards the other side of the city. Using his Waterbending, Taran knocked all the commando droids away, slicing them in half. He knew he couldn't catch up to Ceran from here, but he could do one thing. Summoning up every muscle in his arm and the Force, he threw his lightsaber as far as it could go. The weapon spun through the air, getting to the top of a building in height before it started its descent towards the ground.

_SCHLICK!_ The lightsaber embedded itself into Ceran's shoulder and right side of his chest. The blow was hard, but not enough to knock him off the ostrich horse. He continued to ride, looking mortally wounded. Taran couldn't see anymore as Ceran rounded the corner and vanished from sight. He wanted to follow, but there was no point, especially since the battle was over. The Jullans had surrendered, their arms on the ground and their hands raised.

He ran back to Ahsoka, who was being tended by a Waterbender.

"You alright Snips?" he asked.

"Been better. I thought I'd never add drowning to my list of ways of near death," said Ahsoka. He chuckled a bit. The Jullan prisoners were herded to the the middle of a street in one long line, the king among them. Grievous and Ceran were no where to be found.

"What shall we do with them?" said an Earth Kingdom lieautenant.

"On your knees. All of you!" yelled a Fire Nation general. Reluctantly, the Jullans did. The Fire Nation general said something in a subordinate's ear. He nodded and took out his pistol. Other soldiers around him followed suit and got behind the prisoners. The Jullans knew what was going to happen.

"No please, have mercy!" yelled one prisoner.

"Mercy!" yelled others.

"Our mercy has its' limits. You should have thought of that when our homes and our families were bombed by you," said a Water Tribe general.

"Finish them," said An Earth Kingdom general. The Republic forces could only watch at their Elementian allies. Sure they thought this was wrong, but they didn't want to provoke infighting, and they knew that their hearts were just as sore as the Elementians. The soldiers cocked their guns and were about to shoot.

"Stop!" yelled a voice no one was expecting. The Elementian generals looked around for the voice. They looked at Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka, Cody, Rex, and other commanders. It was none of them...

**Sorry for the long wait. Scholarship season was in full flight. So far I've managed to get 3.5K, with more money in waiting. Also to let you know, I'll be attending the University of Georgia. Go Bulldawgs!**


	9. Reconciliation and Dark Plot

It was Taran.

"Release them," said Taran. All the Elementian generals, save for Long, and even a few Republic commanders, were flabbergasted.

"Avatar Taran, what are you doing?" said Earth Kingdom General Jin.

"This has to end today," said Taran, looking at the prisoners.

"Sir, do you know what they did?" said a Water tribe General.

"They attacked you on a diplomatic mission, launched a surprise attack on our homeplanet, and may I remind you of their blood lust against you," said Fire Nation General Li.

"Which shouldn't have happened under a previous Avatar's rule," said Taran.

"Taran, what are you saying?" said Long.

"I'm saying we should stop fighting them and instead be embracing them," said Taran.

"That's madness! Theyre the reason for the deaths of thousands of our people!" yelled General Li.

"That's quite ironic coming from you," said Taran.

"What do you mean?"

"In the Hundred Years War, the Fire Nation killed and wounded thousands of people around the planet, as well as nearly eradicating the Air Nomads. Now you're saying we shouldn't the Jullans for something the Fire Nation did as well? What ever happen to forgiveness? I may not be an Air Nomad, but I understand that revenge is a curse on all, no matter who instigated it. I think that's what we should all do now. If an Earth Kingdom, Water Tribe, even an Air Nomad, can embrace someone of the Fire Nation in friendship and trust, then why not an Elementian and a Jullan?" said Taran. The Jullans looked up to him as he said that. Taran walked over to the Jullan king.

"You are directly affected by the choice of your ancestor, and my past life. If you wish to continue this cycle of revenge and destruction," said Taran, activating his lightsaber and putting it in the Jullans hand, "then all you need to do is stab." Everyone in the Elementian-Republic army watched in stun silence. The Jullan king couldn't believe it. The Avatar had just given him the weapon to end his life if he so chose. He felt like ending it right then and there, but he couldn't. He felt compassion, peace, and understanding rush through his body. He handed back the lightsaber, grasping Taran's hand.

"I understand now," he said to him.

"You may be despised by many for now, but one day you'll do something that many will never forget," said Taran.

"Release them," said Taran. The soldiers standing by the Jullan prisoners readily obeyed, helping them to their feet.

"If you don't mind your highness, we'll need to leave a few garrisons on the planet," said Taran.

"We do not blame you. I've made some very unwise decisions since becoming king. I'll make up for it starting today," said the king. Taran offered his hand to shake, and the king readily shook it.

The Battle of Julla was over.

* * *

(Two days later)

The garrisons were helping to clean up the wrecked city, and the scars of war around the city. Cooperation was tense, but it was underway. Taran watched as old houses were replaced with new ones as temporary homes provided for the dispersed inhabitants.

"You did good Padawan," said Obi-Wan.

"Thank you Master," said Taran.

"You were able to turn a conflict into a peace that will endure for a long time," said Obi-Wan.

"I couldn't have done it if it wasn't for my teacher. Speaking of which remind me to thank Anakin for his wisdom," said Taran, chuckling to himself after the statement. Obi-Wan smiled.

"You've done a great deed here Taran. Never forget that," said Obi-Wan, walking away. Taran watched his Master leave, looking back over the city. His thoughts went to Ceran, wondering if he was still alive or dead.

"I don't know if you're alive, but if you are you better be ready, 'cause I'm not stopping until I find you."

* * *

"So it seems that my newest acolyte cannot stop them. Now that another one has defied me and Ventress is no longer under my service, only you, Grievous, and Bane remain. How sad," said Dooku.

"My Lord, it seems we cannot beat Cyneran or the others individually," said Ceran.

"So it appears," said Dooku.

"What if we combine our efforts?" said Ceran.

"I'm listening," said Dooku.

"What is the status of Dr. Vindi?" said Ceran.

"He's under lock and key in a Republic prison," said Dooku.

"That won't do then. I have a plan that even if it won't kill Cyneran, he'll be the most hated in the galaxy," said Ceran.

"Go on."

To be continued...

**End to this story. The next story weill be out hopefully by the end of the week. Hope you've enjoyed the story and looking forward to your reviews**.


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